Boost your immunity this winter with the flu vaccine and COVID-19 booster
Flu and COVID-19 can both be life-threatening and spread more easily in winter. If you’re over 50 or in an at risk group, you are eligible for a free flu vaccine and a COVID-19 booster.
Most people who can get a COVID-19 booster vaccine are also eligible for the annual flu vaccine.
If you are offered both vaccines, it's safe to have them at the same time.
Get vaccinated.
Get boosted.
Get protected.
To find our more visit: nhs.uk/wintervaccinations
The flu vaccination is an important, easy way to stay well this winter.
Ask your GP, pharmacist or midwife about the flu vaccine.
To find out more about the flu vaccination please click on this link please click here.
The flu vaccine is given free on the NHS to the following:
It's known that flu can cause serious complications for you and your baby. You could both get ill. All pregnant women should have the flu vaccine to protect themselves and their babies.
The flu vaccine can be given safely at any stage of pregnancy, from conception onwards. You can get the free flu jab from your GP, pharmacist or midwife.
Pregnant women benefit from the flu vaccine because it will:
If you have flu symptoms, you should talk to your doctor urgently. If you do have flu, there is a prescribed medicine that might help or reduce the risk of complications, but it needs to be taken as soon as possible after the symptoms appear.
The flu jab is the safest way to help protect you and your baby. It's free because you need it, however many months pregnant you are, and however fit and healthy you might feel.
For more information on the flu vaccination in pregnancy, click here
Flu can be more severe in people aged 50 or over. Flu can lead to serious complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia (a lung infection), and you could end up in hospital. Don't put it off – contact your GP or a pharmacist to get a flu vaccine now. It's free because you need it.
Flu on top of any long term health condition can easily develop into something very serious, and you could end up in hospital. You are eligible for the free flu jab if you have the following conditions:
Don't put it off – contact your GP or pharmacist to get the flu jab now. It's free because you need it.
Carers are people who are in receipt of a carer's allowance, or those who are the main carer of an older or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.
The flu jab is the best way to protect yourself and the person you care for from flu.
The flu can be far more serious for the person you care for than you think. It can lead to serious complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia, and could even land them in hospital.
Don't put it off – contact your GP or pharmacist to get the flu jab now. It's free because you need it.
Flu can be horrible for little children, and if they get it, they can easily spread it around the whole family.
Children with flu have the same symptoms as adults, including fever, chills, aching muscles, headache, a stuffy nose, a dry cough, and a sore throat lasting up to a week.
Some children develop a very high fever or complications such as bronchitis, pneumonia and a painful middle ear infection.
The children's flu vaccine is offered as a yearly nasal spray to young children to protect them against flu.
Don't put it off – ask your GP about the free flu nasal spray for your child.
Several studies, including numbers emerging from the current Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) Programme have shown that respiratory problems are a major cause of death of people with learning disabilities.
Click here for more information on getting the flu jab if you have a learning disability, including easy read and accessible resources.
If you're a frontline health and social care worker, your employer should offer you a flu vaccine. They may give the vaccine at your workplace.
You can also have an NHS flu vaccine at a GP surgery or a pharmacy, if you're a health or social care worker employed by a:
You can also have the flu vaccine if you provide health or social care through direct payments or personal health budgets, or both.
The nasal spray vaccine offers the best protection for children aged 2 to 17 years. They will be offered the flu vaccine injection if the nasal spray vaccine is not suitable for them.
A coronavirus (COVID-19) booster vaccine dose helps improve the protection you have from your first 2 doses of the vaccine.
It helps give you longer-term protection against getting seriously ill from COVID-19.
To find out more about the Covid-19 booster vaccination visit the NHS website
Booster vaccine doses will be available on the NHS for people most at risk from COVID-19 who have had a 2nd dose of a vaccine at least 3 months ago.
This includes:
People who are pregnant and in 1 of the eligible groups can also get a booster dose.
Health conditions that put you at high risk from COVID-19You can book your COVID-19 booster dose online if it's been 2 months (61 days) since you had your 2nd dose
Most people can:
You'll be offered appointment dates from 3 months after the date of your 2nd dose.
You can book your COVID-19 booster dose online if it's been at least 3 months since you had your 2nd dose and you are:
You'll be offered appointment dates from 3 months after the date of your 2nd dose.
You can get your booster dose at a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site if you had your 2nd dose at least 3 months ago and you are:
If you do not get a letter but you have a health condition and you think you’re eligible, contact your GP surgery.
People attending an appointment at a Wirral vaccination site will be offered a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine or Moderna vaccine.
This means your booster dose may be different from the vaccines you had for your 1st and 2nd doses.
Some people may be offered a booster dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine if they cannot have the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna.
