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We offer a full range of immunisation to help protect our patients from disease. These include:
Flu Vaccine
Who should have the flu vaccine?
Certain groups are more at risk from the effects of influenza. These groups are:
- Everyone aged 65 and over, even if otherwise fit and well
- People of any age who have:
- Chronic heart disease
- Chronic chest disease, including asthma
- Diabetes
- Chronic renal (kidney) disease
- A suppressed immune system, either due to disease or treatment (eg long-term steroids)
- People of any age who live in a long-stay residential or nursing home or other similar long-stay facility.
We strongly recommend that you should have a flu vaccine each year if you are in one of the above groups.
Why are these patients selected?
These patients are the ones most likely to suffer from complications of influenza, ending up in hospital, or, in extreme cases, death. For other patients, influenza is an unpleasant illness, but it rarely causes serious complications.
Is the vaccine effective?
People in the selected groups who take the vaccine reduce their risk of hospital admission by 60%.
Many people mistake a heavy cold or other viral illnesses for flu. The vaccine cannot protect against these illnesses. It only protects against true influenza.
The flu virus changes from year to year, and the vaccine is modified to keep up with the changes. If it failed to protect you one year, it can still be effective next year.
Is the vaccine safe?
The only people for whom the vaccine is unsafe are those who have a serious allergic reaction to hens' eggs. If you think you are in this category, please speak to one of the doctors.
You should postpone the vaccine if you are currently feverish with an infection.
Side-effects
Approximately one in six patients will experience mild soreness and swelling
at the site of the injection. These symptoms usually settle within 48 hours.
Very rarely, you may experience a mild fever and aching muscles, beginning a
few hours after the vaccine. Again, this subsides after about 48 hours. This
is not an infection and you are not contagious in these circumstances.
Myths about the flu vaccine
You sometimes hear people saying 'I had the vaccine last year and I was ill all winter'. There have been many scientific studies looking at this question. All the studies come to the same conclusion: these symptoms are not due to the flu vaccine. There is no physical way in which the vaccine can give you flu. This is because the vaccine does not contain any active flu virus.
When is the vaccine given?
It needs to be given each year, before the start of the flu season. We will be running special clinics in October and early November. If you are seeing the doctor or nurse for any other reason at that time, please ask them for the flu vaccine.
We immunise more than 1300 patients, which takes time. Don’t worry if you cannot get an appointment for the flu clinic in early October - true influenza does not normally hit Britain until December at the earliest, so there is plenty of time to get immunised.
Can I have the vaccine even if I'm not in a high risk group?
The flu vaccine is designed to reduce the risk of vulnerable patients suffering from complications of influenza. Healthy young adults do not receive benefits from the vaccine (but healthy patients aged over 65 do benefit). Indeed, one study found that healthy young adults who had the vaccine only reduced their time off work from influenza by half a day!
Vaccines are expected to be in short supply this year, so please help us to save the vaccines for vulnerable patients.
More details are available from the Department of Health.
Pneumococcal Vaccine
The pneumonococcal vaccine may also be offered where appropriate.
Hepatitis B Vaccination
We offer our patients the opportunity to be vaccinated against Hepatitits B if they are at risk of infection through their job or social activitries.
If you would like further information about this service, please make an appointment with one of our Practice Staff.
