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Important Update on Seasonal Flu Vaccine

Parkside wishes to advise patients that due to the Covid-19 pandemic the seasonal flu vaccine will not be available this year at our hospital for self-funding patients.

Across the UK, the seasonal influenza (flu) vaccination programme for 2020/2021 will be significantly impacted by the pandemic. This is in terms of delivery of the vaccine safely within the pandemic guidance on infection prevention and control.

Stocks of the 2020 winter flu vaccine will be managed and distributed by the NHS. This means that unfortunately for this year, the flu vaccine is not available at Parkside for private patients.

Where to get the flu vaccine

You can have your NHS flu vaccine at:

  1. your GP surgery
  2. a local pharmacy offering the service
  3. your midwifery service if they offer it for pregnant women

Some community pharmacies now offer flu vaccination to adults (but not children) at risk from flu, including pregnant women, people aged 65 and over, people with long-term health conditions and carers.

If you have your flu vaccine at a pharmacy, you do not have to inform a GP. It’s up to the pharmacist to do that.

Who should get the seasonal flu vaccine?

This year the flu vaccine is being offered on the NHS to:

  1. adults 65 and over
  2. people with certain medical conditions (including children in at-risk groups from 6 months of age)
  3. pregnant women
  4. people living with someone who’s at high risk from coronavirus (on the NHS shielded patient list)
  5. children aged 2 and 3 on 31 August 2020
  6. children in primary school
  7. children in year 7 (secondary school)
  8. frontline health or social care workers.

Later in the year, the flu vaccine may be given to people aged 50 to 64. More information will be available later in the autumn.

However, if you’re aged 50 to 64 and in an at-risk group, you should not delay having your flu vaccine.

For the latest information on the seasonal flu vaccine, please visit the NHS website www.nhs.uk/ and search for flu vaccine.

 

Date: 03/09/2020