Flu Vaccine

What is flu:

  • Flu symptoms come on very quickly and can include a sudden high temperature, an aching body, feeling tired or exhausted, a dry cough, a sore throat, a headache, difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, diarrhoea or tummy pain and feeling sick and being sick.

  • Symptoms are similar for children, but they can also get pain in their ear and appear less active.

  • Flu is very infectious and easily spread to other people – you’re more than likely give it to others in the first 5 days.

  • Flu is spread by germs from coughs and sneezes, which can live on hands and surfaces for 24 hours.

Flu vaccines:

  • Flu vaccines are safe and effective and help protect loved ones at risk of flu and its complications.

  • The best time to have a flu vaccine is in the autumn before flu starts spreading. But you can get vaccinated later.

  • Adults will receive an injection each winter season.

  • Children will receive a nasal spray, which is painless and easy to have.

  • Find out who is eligible for the vaccine: www.nhs.uk/flu

Caucasian lady applying a plaster over Afro-Carribean lady's arm. Both are wearing masks

Flu vaccine - Mythbusters

  • Fact 1: Pregnant women should get the flu vaccine since their immune systems are weaker than usual. It can also protect the baby against flu after they’re born.

    Flu during pregnancy can be extremely dangerous for women and their babies – increasing the risk of miscarriage or premature labour.

    Having the jab can also protect baby against flu after they’re born and during the early months of life, as babies cannot be vaccinated.

  • Fact 2: This is not true. The flu jab does not contain any pork or gelatine. It is the children’s nasal spray that contains gelatine.

    You can find more about it by clicking here.

  • Fact 3: A bad bout of flu is much worse than a heavy cold. Flu symptoms come on suddenly and sometimes severely.

    At best influenza may cause a sore throat, runny nose and other cold-like symptoms. However, at worst it can result in sepsis, chronic heart disease, pneumonia and multi-organ failure. For those with existing health conditions, it can be fatal.

    In England 8,000 people on average die of flu each year – although in some years, deaths have exceeded 20,000. (Public Health England)

  • Fact 4: The injected flu vaccine cannot cause flu because there are no active viruses in the vaccine.

    Your arm may feel a bit sore where you were injected, and some people get a slight temperature and aching muscles for a day or two, but other reactions are very rare.

    The vaccine takes around 10 days to protect you fully, so if you’ve been sick after having your flu jab, you would have been unlucky and caught the flu (or a flu-like virus) just before it took effect.

    There can sometimes be several strains of flu virus circulating at the same time, which is why some people may still get the flu despite being vaccinated.

    That doesn’t mean it’s not worth having the jab - some protection is better than none at all!

  • Fact 5: This is not true. The viruses that cause flu can change every year, so you need a vaccination each year that matches the new viruses.

    The vaccine usually provides protection for the duration of the flu season that year.