Flu
The flu vaccination is free and available every year on the NHS to help protect adults and children at risk of flu and its complications. Flu can be unpleasant, but if you are otherwise healthy, it will usually clear up on its own within a week.
Each year, the viruses that are most likely to cause flu are identified in advance and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends which type of flu virus strains to to include int he vaccine.
Wootton Medical Centre have already purchased and reserved flu vaccines for our eligible patients and appreciates your patience and support in attending the surgery for this vaccine.
The flu vaccine is recommended yearly for those most at risk of flu. This includes:
- Children aged 2 and 3 years old
- Pregnant women
- Anyone living with a long-term medical condition
- Everyone aged 65 years and old
- Carers
How effective is the vaccine?
The flu vaccine is the best protection we have against an unpredicted virus that can cause unpleasant illness in children and severe illness and death among at-risk groups, including older people, pregnant women and those with an underlying medical health condition.
Studies have shown that the flu vaccine will help prevent you getting the flu. It will not stop all flu viruses and the level of protection may vary, so it is not a 100% guarantee that you will be flu-free, but if you do get flu after having the vaccination it is likely to be milder and shorter-lived than it would otherwise have been.
Possible side effects
Serious side effects of the injected flu vaccine are very rare. You may have a mild fever and aching muscles for a couple of days after the vaccine and your arm may be a bit sore where you were injected.
Side effects of the nasal spray vaccine may commonly include a runny or blocked nose, headache, tiredness and some loss of appetite.
Find out about flu vaccination for adults
Find out about flu vaccination for children
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccination is safe and effective. It gives you the best protection against COVID-19.
The NHS website provides information about the vaccination, who can get it, and safety and side effects.
Find out about COVID-19 vaccination
Travel
Patients travelling abroad are required to submit a travel questionnaire to the practice not less than 8 weeks before travel. All NHS vaccines are available free at the GP surgery. Any vaccines not covered under the NHS; patients will be asked to make an appointment at their local travel centre.
Pneumococcal
A vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease, an infection caused by the bacterium streptococcus pneumoniae, which usually lives harmlessly in the back of many people’s throats. However, it can invade other parts of the body and cause serious, possible life threatening illnesses, notably:
- Pneumonia
- Septicasemia or ‘blood poisoning’
- Meningitis
The pneumococcal vaccination can help prevent disease; people over 65 only need a single vaccination which will protect for life. The vaccination is available throughout the year.
Pneumococcal vaccine – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Shingles
A vaccine to prevent shingles, a common and painful skin disease is available on the NHS to people in their 70s.
The shingles vaccine is given as a single injection into the upper arm and unlike the flu jab, you will only need to have the vaccination once and you can have it at any time of the year.
The shingles vaccine is expected to reduce your risk of getting shingles. If you do go on to have the disease, your symptoms may be milder and the illness shorter.
Shingles can be very painful and uncomfortable. Some people are left with pain lasting for years after the initial rash has healed. Singles is also fatal for around 1 in 1000 people over-70s who develop it.
What is shingles?
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus (varicella-zoster virus) in people who have previously had chickenpox.
People tend to get shingles more often as they get older, especially over the age of 70, and the older you are, the worse it can be. The pain of shingles can also linger long after the rash has disappeared, even for many years. This lingering pain is called post-herpetic neuralgia.
It begins with a burning sensation in the skin, followed by a rash of very painful fluid-filled blisters that can then burst and turn into sores before healing. Often an area of just one side the body is affected, usually the chest but sometimes the head, face and eye.
Who can have the shingles vaccination?
You are eligible for the shingles vaccine if you are aged 70 or 78 years old. In addition, anyone who was previously eligible (born on or after 2nd September 1942) but missed out on this vaccination remains eligible until their 80th birthday.
When you are eligible, you can have the shingles vaccination at any time of year, just book an appointment with a practice nurse.
The shingles vaccine is not available on the NHS to anyone aged 80 or over because it seems to be less effective in this age group.
Shingles vaccine – NHS (www.nhs.uk)