From October, many people will receive an invitation in their letterbox for the flu vaccination. The flu vaccination is intended for people at higher risk of serious illness from the flu. They can get the flu jab free of charge from their General Practitioner or their healthcare facility. The invitation comes later than usual because the delivery of the vaccines was delayed by several weeks.
Most people do not get very ill from the flu. However, there are also lots of people who do have a greater chance of getting seriously ill. They can protect themselves by getting the flu vaccine. After vaccination, a person is, on average, 40% less likely to be hospitalised because of the flu.
Who gets an invitation for the flu vaccination?
The following people will receive an invitation letter to get the flu vaccination at their GP or healthcare facility:
- People aged 60 years or older
- People with vulnerable health
- People living in a nursing home
Flu vaccination for pregnant women
Pregnant women and newborn babies can also become very ill from the flu. For this reason, pregnant women can get the flu vaccination if they are pregnant for 22 weeks or longer between 15 October and 1 March. This protects them and their baby from serious flu illness.
Pregnant women can book a flu vaccination appointment at the well-baby clinic. This can be done at the same time as the 22-week pertussis vaccination (whooping cough, aP). It is safe to have both jabs at the same time.
Flu vaccination for people who work in healthcare
The flu vaccination reduces the chance of someone infecting others with the flu. This is particularly important for people who work in the healthcare sector and therefore come into close contact with vulnerable patients and clients. That is why people who work in healthcare are advised to have the flu vaccination. This can be done through their employer.
Flu vaccination for people who work with animals
If someone gets both the flu and avian flu at the same time, this could lead to a new virus variant that is more infectious and pathogenic to humans. The chance of this happening is very small, but the consequences could be great. That is why the flu vaccination is also available this autumn for people who are more likely to get avian flu. For example, people working with poultry, pigs, wild birds or wild mammals. They will not receive an invitation, but they can make their own appointment with the General Practitioner for a free flu vaccination.
Pneumococcal vaccination
Some people will also be invited to have the pneumococcal vaccination this autumn. This applies to people born in:
- 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, or 1952
- 1966
The pneumococcal vaccination protects against severe pneumococcal disease, such as pneumonia. People can safely get the flu vaccination and the pneumococcal vaccination at the same time.