Don’t spend your Christmas holidays in bed with the flu

The NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria is offering flu jabs to people at sites across the region as it braces itself for a rise in winter viruses in the coming weeks.

Latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows flu cases are currently highest among five to 14-year-olds, but adult cases are expected to rise significantly once schools and nurseries close for Christmas, as the NHS contends with a ‘quad-demic’. 

Local NHS services are going to great efforts to ensure it’s as easy as possible to get a jab. Shoppers can add a flu jab to their Christmas shopping list with mobile vaccination vans located in supermarket and shopping centre car parks – including Asda in Barrow (15 Dec), Morrisons in Morecambe (16 Dec), Morrisons in Thornton Cleveleys (14 Dec and 18 Dec) and Affinity Shopping Centre in Fleetwood (22 Dec) - while various family hubs and community centres are also hosting walk-in clinics this week.

This latest drive to get people vaccinated comes amid new fears of a ‘quad-demic’, with flu, RSV, COVID-19 and norovirus all reaching record levels for this time in the year, as the NHS braces for a long winter ahead.

People have just over a week left to book COVID-19 and flu vaccination appointments on the NHS online booking system, NHS App and 119 phone service – until the autumn vaccination programme officially ends on December 19.

More than 27 million jabs have already been carried out for flu, COVID-19 and RSV in England.

Still, the NHS is urging more people to come forward so they can protect themselves and their families over the festive period and into the new year.

Jane Scattergood, vaccine director for Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said: “It takes around two weeks for a flu jab to offer maximum protection, so we are urging people to get vaccinated as soon as possible as the best defence against flu this Christmas.

“Common respiratory illnesses have had an impact earlier than ever this year, so we are urging all eligible people to take advantage of the many walk-in clinics currently available to help ease the pressure on local health services.”

Those currently eligible for a flu vaccine this year include:

• pregnant women
• all children aged two or three years on 31 August 2024
• primary school aged children (from reception to year six)
• secondary school aged children (from year seven to year 11)
• all children in clinical risk groups aged from six months to less than 18 years
• those aged 65 years and over
• those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined by the Green Book)
• those in long-stay residential care homes
• carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
• close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
• frontline workers in a social care settings

Flu season usually peaks in December and January and the vaccine provides vital protection to prevent people from developing serious illnesses and ending up in hospital during the busy winter months.

It is usually given to children as a quick and painless spray up the nose – without the need for an injection – unless your child cannot have porcine gelatine in medical products, in which case an injected flu vaccine is available as an alternative.

It is still possible to book your vaccinations after 19 December through local NHS vaccination services, like pharmacies or walk-in sites. However, there will be fewer COVID appointments, and you may need to travel further.