Flu Vaccination

Please support your GP practice by having your flu vaccination with us!

By choosing to have your flu Vaccination at the practice you are helping support our work. Any profit from the flu vaccinations goes into developing patient services. Thank you for your support.

Flu Season Ahead

Please follow the guidance below to help us to help you. There are two different flu vaccinations for ADULTS:

  • Flu vaccination for over 65s
  • Flu vaccination for under 65s

Vaccinations for CHILDREN will commence in September/October.

We will be vaccinating the over 65s from October. You will be invited by text message, letter or telephone to book your appointment for your Flu vaccine.

From the middle of October we will start the ‘At Risk’ under 65 vaccinations. You will be invited by text message, letter or telephone to book an appointment. Appointments will be staggered throughout October/November/December as and when we receive delivery of the Flu vaccines. We will send you regular text message reminders.

If you are aged between 50-64 years old (no other risk factors) and haven’t received an invitation for your flu vaccination and you would like one, please contact the surgery and we will book you in.

All flu vaccinations will have to be pre-booked, no walk in appointments will be available

Care Homes

The practice will be arranging flu vaccinations for all of their patients in care homes.

Housebound patients

Patients who are truly housebound can book on a home visiting list. We will contact you to let you know when we will be visiting.

All staff will be wearing full PPE to protect you and them!

Face coverings will be required to be worn by all patients receiving a flu vaccination

Attending a flu vaccination appointment

  • Please do not arrive more than 5 minutes before your appointment. This is to ensure that we adhere to strict social distancing laws and have time to clean down properly between each patient
  • Please think about what you should wear. We need to get to the top of your arm. Please be ready with your arm exposed so we can immunise you as speedily as possible
  • Attend alone or with only 1 carer/parent if you are unable to attend only
  • If you are unwell and have any signs of COVID- 19 such as a fever and/or a persistent cough- do not attend, we can re-book your appointment at a later date.

By working together we will try to help as many patients as possible alongside keeping everyone safe during the pandemic.

Thank you in advance for your co-operation.

Important information about the over 65s (aTIV) flu vaccine

Why is it important to get vaccinated against the flu?

Flu related illness is a major problem, particularly for people ages over 65 years, and can lead to complications, hospitalisation or even death. From 2014 to 2019, an average of up to 17,000 annual deaths (between 1,692 and 28,330) in England were attributed to flu. If you have an underlying health condition such as chronic hear, kidney, liver or respiratory disease the flu may make your condition worse.

As the flu virus changes every year, it is important to get vaccinated every winter.

What is aTIV?

As you get older, your immune system gets weaker- aTIV is a flu vaccine that specifically helps to protect those aged 65 years and over. aTIV is one of the flu vaccines recommended as being suitable for you by the NHS for the 2020/2021 flu season.

Does aTIV cause any side effects?

Like all vaccines, aTIV can cause side effects. Most reactions are mild or moderate and resolve spontaneously within 1 to 2 days.

Very Common Side Effects

  • Muscle pain
  • Headache
  • Fatigue
  • Pain and/or tenderness at the injection site

Common Side Effects

  • Redness, swelling, bruising, hardness at or close to the injection site.
  • Sweating
  • Nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting
  • Joint pain
  • Fever, generally feeling unwell, shivering

aTIV contains inactivated virus parts, which cannot cause the flu.

Flu vaccines do not protect against the common cold, which has similar symptoms to the flu.

What should I do in case of any unexpected side effects?

If you get any side effects talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk – by reporting side affects you can help provide more on the safety of this medicine.

This leaflet should be read in conjunction with the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc.