Winter vaccination
Influenza (flu) vaccination
Get protected from flu this winter
The flu is an unpleasant illness caused by the influenza virus infecting the respiratory system, including your nose, throat and lungs. Flu will often get better on its own, but it can make some people seriously ill and can be life-threatening. In a bad flu year, on average around 30,000 people in the UK die from flu and pneumonia.
The flu vaccine is a safe and effective vaccine. It’s offered every year on the NHS to help protect people at risk of getting seriously ill from flu. More people than ever are entitled to a free flu vaccine this year – this includes all school-aged children, and everyone aged 50 and over.
Those eligible to receive both the COVID-19 booster vaccine and the flu vaccine should do so to protect themselves and others in the community.
You can have the NHS flu vaccine at:
- your GP surgery
- a pharmacy offering the service
- your midwifery service if you’re pregnant
- a hospital appointment.
Flu vaccination is important because:
- more people are likely to get flu this winter as fewer people will have built up natural immunity to it during the COVID-19 pandemic
- if you get flu and COVID-19 at the same time, you're more likely to be seriously ill
- getting vaccinated against flu and COVID-19 will provide protection for you and those around you from both these serious illnesses
Who can get the flu vaccine?
The flu vaccine is given free on the NHS to people who:
- are 50 and over (including those who’ll be 50 by 31 March 2022)
- have certain health conditions
- are pregnant
- are in long-stay residential care
- receive a carer’s allowance, or are the main carer for an older or disabled person who may be at risk if you get sick
- live with someone who is more likely to get infections (such as someone who has HIV, has had a transplant or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis)
- frontline health or social care workers
Nasal spray flu vaccine for children and young people
The nasal spray flu vaccine is free on the NHS for:
- children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2021 – born between 1 September 2017 and 31 August 2019
- all primary school children - reception to year 6 (see below)
- all year 7 to year 11 children in secondary school
- children aged 2 to 17 years with long-term health conditions
If your child is aged between 6 months and 2 years and has a long-term health condition that makes them at higher risk from flu, they’ll be offered a flu vaccine injection instead of the nasal spray. This is because the nasal spray is not licensed for children under 2 years.
Getting your flu vaccination
Eligible people can book an appointment for their flu jab at their GP practice or local pharmacy.
Pregnant women should ask for their free flu jab at their local maternity service.
Find a pharmacy that offers the NHS flu vaccine (external link)
Pre-school children should get their flu vaccine from their GP. All school-aged children (reception to year 11) will be offered their flu vaccine at school. Please ensure that you look out for and complete a consent form.
If for any reason your child missed out on their flu vaccination at school. Vaccination UK, who run the schools' vaccination programme in Haringey, is running regular vaccination catch-up clinics. For details of forthcoming vaccination catch-up clinics email haringey@v-uk.co.uk or call 020 8017 7925.
Flu vaccine for children
Nasal flu vaccinations in primary schools - 2022-2023
Flu vaccinations in primary schools will be happening soon. Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent highly infectious diseases such as the flu.
The nasal spray vaccine contains small amounts of weakened flu viruses. They do not cause flu in children, but will help children to build up immunity to flu in a similar way as a natural infection (but without the symptoms).
As the main flu viruses can change each year, a new nasal spray vaccine has to be given each year.
Take a look at the Flu information for children, parents and carers (PDF, 317KB) to learn more about nasal flu vaccinations. This includes questions like:
- What is flu?
- How do you get flu?
- How does the vaccine work?
- What will happen on the day?
The vaccine is given as a spray squirted up each nostril. The nasal spray flu vaccine gives children the best protection against flu. It will take around 2 weeks for the flu vaccine to work.
Videos
Take a look at the NHS Flu Vaccinations for Children video (external link) on YouTube.
The video is also available in other community languages:
- Bengali language video (external link)
- Polish language video (external link)
- Punjabi language video (external link)
- Romanian language video (external link)
- Spanish language video (external link)
- Turkish language video (external link)
Further advice and resources
For further information and to book your free flu jab, please contact your local GP, midwife services or practice nurse today.
For more information on the flu vaccine visit:
- Boost your immunity this winter - North Central London CCG (external link)
- Flu vaccinations pages - NHS website (external link)
Read our Childhood Vaccination Information Leaflet (English) (PDF, 270KB) for more information about the safety of routine vaccinations for children.
This is also available in Bulgarian, Polish, Romanian and Turkish:
- Childhood Vaccination Leaflet - Bulgarian (PDF, 295KB)
- Childhood Vaccination Leaflet - Polish (PDF, 330KB)
- Childhood Vaccination Leaflet - Romanian (PDF, 340KB)
- Childhood Vaccination Leaflet - Turkish (PDF, 300KB)
Visit our vaccination and immunisation webpage for information about specific diseases and recommended immunisation schedule.