{"id":554,"date":"2023-09-18T14:48:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T14:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/?p=554"},"modified":"2023-09-18T14:48:43","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T14:48:43","slug":"why-flu-vaccination-is-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/?p=554","title":{"rendered":"Why flu vaccination is important"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Flu vaccination is important because, while flu is unpleasant for most people, it can be dangerous and even life threatening for some people, particularly those with certain health conditions.<br>The best time to have your flu vaccine is in the autumn or early winter before flu starts spreading. But you can get your vaccine later.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Who can have the flu vaccine?<\/strong><br>The flu vaccine is given free on the NHS to adults who:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>are 65 and over (including those who will be 65 by 31 March 2024)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>have certain health conditions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>are pregnant<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>are in long-stay residential care<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>receive a carer&#8217;s allowance, <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>or are the main carer for an older or disabled person who may be at risk if you get sick<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>live with someone who is more likely to get a severe infection due to a weakened immune system, such as someone living with HIV, someone who has had a transplant, or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><strong>How to get the flu vaccine<\/strong><br>If you&#8217;re eligible for an NHS flu vaccine, you can get your vaccine from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>your GP surgery<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a pharmacy that offers NHS flu vaccination (if you&#8217;re aged 18 or over)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>some maternity services (if you&#8217;re pregnant)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You may receive an invitation to get vaccinated, but you do not have to wait for this before booking an appointment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Important<\/strong><br>It&#8217;s important to go to your vaccination appointments unless you have a high temperature or feel too unwell to go to work or do your normal activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Flu vaccine for people with long-term health conditions<\/strong><br>The flu vaccine is offered free on the NHS to people with certain long-term health conditions, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>respiratory conditions, such as asthma (needing a steroid inhaler or tablets)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and bronchitis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>diabetes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>heart conditions, such as coronary heart disease or heart failure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>being very overweight \u2013 a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>chronic kidney disease<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>liver disease, such as cirrhosis or hepatitis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>some neurological conditions, such as Parkinson&#8217;s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), or cerebral palsy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a learning disability<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>problems with your spleen like sickle cell disease, or if you&#8217;ve had your spleen removed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a weakened immune system as a result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or taking medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Talk to your doctor if you have a long-term health condition that is not in one of these groups. They should offer you a flu vaccine if they think you&#8217;re at risk of serious health problems if you get flu.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Flu vaccine if you&#8217;re pregnant<\/strong><br>You should have the flu vaccine if you&#8217;re pregnant to help protect you and your baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s safe to have a flu vaccine at any stage of pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Flu vaccine for frontline health and social care workers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;re a frontline health or social care worker, you should get your flu vaccine through your employer. They may give you the vaccine at your workplace through the occupational health scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you cannot get a flu vaccine through your employer, you can still get it if you&#8217;re employed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>by a registered residential care or nursing home<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>by a registered domiciliary care provider<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>by a voluntary managed hospice provider<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>through direct payments or personal health budgets<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are one of these frontline staff in a social care setting, you can get vaccinated at a pharmacy or the GP surgery you are registered with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are employed by a registered residential care or nursing home, or a voluntary managed hospice provider, you may also be offered vaccination at your place of work when the residents or patients are vaccinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Who should not have the flu vaccine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most adults can have the flu vaccine, but you should avoid it if you have had a serious allergic reaction to a flu vaccine in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You may be at risk of an allergic reaction to the flu vaccine injection if you have an egg allergy. This is because some flu vaccines are made using eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ask a GP or pharmacist for a low-egg or egg-free vaccine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;re ill with a high temperature, it&#8217;s best to wait until you&#8217;re better before having the flu vaccine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How effective is the flu vaccine?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vaccination gives the best protection against flu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flu vaccines help protect against the main types of flu viruses, although there&#8217;s still a chance you might get flu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you do get flu after vaccination, it&#8217;s likely to be milder and not last as long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Having a flu vaccine may help stop you spreading flu to other people who could be more at risk of serious problems from flu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>It can take 10 to 14 days for the flu vaccine to work.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flu vaccination is important because, while flu is unpleasant for most people, it can be dangerous and even life threatening for some people, particularly those with certain health conditions.<br \/>\nThe best time to have your flu vaccine is in the autumn or early winter before flu starts spreading. But you can get your vaccine later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,54,39,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-health-wellbeing","category-posts","category-seasonal"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=554"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":556,"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554\/revisions\/556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.toddingtonbaptist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}