Why is getting a flu jab more important this year?

Flu can be serious, and each year causes thousands of people to go to hospital and thousands of deaths in the UK. If you have certain medical conditions or if you’re older, you’re more at risk of becoming seriously ill from flu, even if you currently feel well.

It's even more important than ever to get your flu jab this year, for several reasons:

1) This year, our immunity to flu may be lower than usual. We have had less exposure to flu over the last three winters because of lockdowns, social distancing and other measures that were in place to protect people from coronavirus. This meant there were lower levels of flu circulating, so we didn’t build up immunity within the population.

2) With coronavirus still circulating, it’s important to reduce your risk of getting both illnesses at once, which could make you even more unwell.

3) Getting the flu jab is one of the best preventative things you can do to help the NHS – because more people getting the jab means fewer people who will need treatment for flu at a time when hospitals are still under pressure.

Who is eligible for a flu vaccination?

• Patients aged 65 years or over including those becoming aged 65 by 31 March 2024
• Patients aged 6 months to aged 64 years who are in a clinical risk group such as:

• Chronic long term respiratory disease, such as asthma (if on an inhaled steroid)
• COPD or bronchitis
• Diabetes
• Chronic heart disease such as heart failure
• Chronic kidney disease (CKD) at stage 3,4 or 5
• Chronic liver disease
• Chronic neurological disease, such as Parkinsons disease, motor neurone disease, or learning disability
• Splenic dysfunction
• A weakened immune system due to disease (such as HIV/AIDS) or treatment such as cancer treatment
• Morbid Obesity (defined as a BMI of 40 or above)

• Carers in receipt of carers allowance or main carer for an older or disabled person
• Pregnant women
• Patients living in a long-stay residential/nursing home, or other long-stay care facility
• Patients who are the main carer for elderly or disabled people 
• Pre-school children aged 2 or 3 years old on 31^st August 2023 (not 4 years or older unless they fall in a risk group above)
• Household contacts of patients who are immunocompromised
• Health and social care staff who are our patients
• Health and care staff who are our patients, employed by a voluntary managed hospice