Influenza Vaccinations

If you are eligible for a free flu vaccine, we will be in touch early September to invite you to book an appointment. We cannot start vaccinating most eligbile patients until 3rd October as per JCVI guidance (Joint Committee on Vaccination & Immunisation).

You do not need to go anywhere else for your vaccine, we are here to help!

Attending Flu Appointments

To ensure the smooth running of flu clinics and to ensure the safety of both patients & staff, those who are given an appointment are requested to comply with the following:

Do not attend if you or a household member develops any symptoms of COVID 19 such as high temperature, new continuous cough, loss of taste or smell.
Do not attend if you are awaiting COVID 19 test results.
Wear a face covering.
Come alone where possible.
Attend your appointment promptly & remove your coat / roll up your sleeve in preparation for the vaccine, this will aid the smooth running of clinics.

Pregnant women - are a priority group, we can vaccinate from mid September when our flu vaccine supplies arrive)

Pregnant women are a priority group vulnerable to the serious impacts of flu and so it is important that we ensure high vaccine uptake in this group. The flu vaccine protects pregnant women but also provides protection for their newborn in the first few months of life. At-risk babies cannot be vaccinated until six months of age. Pregnant women can be vaccinated at any stage of pregnancy. They are eligible for a free flu vaccination and can obtain one from their GP. A video has been produced to share with pregnant patients: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7D84Xawqws&t=5s

Adult Flu Vaccine

Eligible patients will be sent a link to book or can book via our reception team. Our rotas will start from 3rd October.

Patients who have not consented to receiving SMS text messages or do not have a mobile registered with us, but are eligible for a free flu vaccination will be contacted via letter or via a call from our reception team.

Reminder: please advise if you wish to decline & our reception team will update your record. This will need to be completed each Flu season.

You can have a free flu vaccine if you are in the below groups:
Eligible Groups	Further Details as per NHS Guidance
50 to 64 years	not included in 2024-25 cohort as per NHS Guidance
All patients aged 65 years and over	Those aged 65 years and over on 31 March 2025
Chronic respiratory disease aged 6 months and over	Asthma that requires continuous or repeated use of inhaled or systemic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including chronic bronchitis and emphysema; bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung fibrosis, pneumoconiosis and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Children who have previously been admitted to hospital for lower respiratory tract disease.
Chronic heart disease aged six months and over	Congenital heart disease, hypertension with cardiac complications, chronic heart failure, individuals requiring regular medication and/or follow-up for ischaemic heart disease. This includes individuals with atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease or a history of venous thromboembolism.
Chronic kidney disease aged six months and over	Chronic kidney disease at stage 3, 4 or 5, chronic kidney failure, nephrotic syndrome, kidney transplantation
Chronic liver disease aged 6 months and over	Cirrhosis, biliary atresia, chronic hepatitis.
Chronic neurological disease aged six months and over	Stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Conditions in which respiratory function may be compromised due to neurological or neuromuscular disease (e.g. polio syndrome sufferers). Clinicians will offer immunisation to all patients with a learning disability given their increased morbidity and mortality due to preventable pneumonia. Clinicians will offer immunisation, based on individual assessment, to clinically vulnerable individuals including those with cerebral palsy, severe or profound disabilities (PMLD), Downs syndrome, multiple sclerosis, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease and related or similar conditions; or hereditary and degenerative disease of the nervous system or muscles; or severe neurological disability
Diabetes aged 6 months and over	Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes requiring insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs, diet controlled diabetes. Addison’s disease, secondary or tertiary adrenal insufficiency requirement steroid replacement.
Immunosuppression aged 6 months and over	Immunosuppression due to disease or treatment, including patients undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression, patients undergoing radical radiotherapy, solid organ transplant recipients, bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients, people living with HIV infection (at all stages), multiple myeloma or genetic disorders affecting the immune system (e.g. IRAK-4, NEMO, complement deficiency, SCID). Individuals who are receiving immunosuppressive or immunomodulating biological therapy including but not limited to, anti-TNF-alemtuzumab ofatumumab, rituximab, patients receiving protein inhibitors or PARP inhibitors, individuals treated with steroid sparing agents such as cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil. Individuals treated with or likely to be treated with systemic steroids for more than a month at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20 mg or more per day (any age), or for children under 20 kg, a dose of 1 mg or more per kg per day. Anyone with a history of haematological malignancy, including leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma and those with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis who may require long term immunosuppressive treatments. It is difficult to define at what level of immunosuppression a patient could be considered to be at a greater risk of the serious consequences of influenza and should be offered seasonal influenza vaccination. This decision is best made on an individual basis and left to the patient’s clinician. Some immune-compromised patients may have a suboptimal immunological response to the vaccine.
Asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen aged six months and over	This also includes conditions such as homozygous sickle cell disease, hereditary spherocytosis, thalassemia major and coeliac syndrome that may lead to splenic dysfunction.
Pregnant women	Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy (first, second or third trimesters).
Morbidly obese (class III obesity)	Adults with a BMI > 40 kg/m2 (adults aged 16+).
Carers	Those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.
Close/Household contacts of immunocompromised individuals aged 6 months and over	Vaccines will be offered to close/household contacts of immunocompromised individuals, who share or expect to share living accommodation on most days over the winter and therefore for whom continuing close contact is unavoidable.
People in long-stay residential or homes	Vaccination is recommended for people living in long stay residential care homes or other long-stay care facilities or nursing homes where rapid spread is likely to follow introduction of infection and cause high morbidity and mortality. This does not include, for instance, prisons, young offender institutions, or university halls of residence. Patients living in care homes will be vaccinated by the GP surgery covering their care home ward rounds.
Locum GPs	Where locum GPs wish to be vaccinated, they should be vaccinated by any practice either as a registered or unregistered patient.
Frontline workers without employer led occupational health schemes	In order to protect patients in a vulnerable care setting health and social care staff employed by a registered domiciliary care provider who are directly involved in the care of vulnerable patients or clients who are at increased risk from exposure to influenza should be vaccinated by the Practice where they are registered as a patient. Health and social care workers employed through Direct Payments and/or Personal Health Budgets (such as personal assistants) delivering domiciliary care to patients and service users.

This list of conditions isn’t definitive and clinical judgement can be used. Your GP can assess you to take into account the risk of flu making any underlying illness you may have worse, as well as your risk of serious illness from flu itself.

Nasal Flu

Once supplies arrive (potentially mid September), eligible patients will be sent a self book link to book appointments.

There are strict ordering controls of nasal vaccine quantities, therefore appointments will be subject to vaccine deliveries being received each week.

Please be aware the nasal flu vaccine does contain gelatine that comes from pork as one of its additives. Gelatine is commonly used in a range of medicines, including capsules & some other vaccines. The gelatine used in Fluenz Tetra is highly purified & used to stabilise the live vaccine. Many stabilsers were tried out by the manufacturers but this gelatine was chosen because it was the best product.

An alternative can be offered for children aged 2 and over whose parents object to live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV)on the ground of its porcine gelatine content, please contact us to discuss.

More information about the contents of the nasal flu vaccine here (PDF, 183KB)

If after reading the above you would still prefer an alternative due to religion, diet, allergies please inform our staff when booking your child's appointment & this information will be passed to our Nurse.

Eligible patients who are registered with Helix Medical Centre:
From six months to less than 2 years old – only if at high risk / in clinical risk group (check with GP/Nurse as injectable vaccine order required) From 2 to 16 years – only if at high risk / in clinical risk group (check with GP/Nurse) - if not vaccinated at school From 16 to under 18 years – only if at high risk / in clinical risk group (check with GP/Nurse) - if not vaccinated at school aged two or three years of age (but not aged less than two years of age or aged four years of age or over on 31 August 2024 (i.e. born on or after 1 September 2020 and on or before 31 August 2022)	Our Reception team will liaise with our Nurse as injectable vaccine will need to be ordered for those six months to less than 2 years (high risk/clinical risk groups) Book with Nurse, Nursing Associate or GP Assistant at Helix Medical Centre We will prioritise vaccination of 2 and 3 years olds and commence vaccinations as early as possible after the nasal flu vaccine becomes available.
primary school aged children (from Reception to Year 6) For school-aged children a vaccination session will be held at school generally during the autumn term. The school aged immunisation team will contact you via the school.	Will be vaccinated at school by vaccinations UK

How is the nasal spray flu vaccine given?

The vaccine is given as a single spray squirted up each nostril. Not only is it needle-free – a big advantage for children – the nasal spray is quick, painless, and works even better than the injected flu vaccine.

The vaccine is absorbed very quickly. It will still work even if, after the vaccination, your child develops a runny nose, sneezes or blows their nose.

Are there any children who should delay having the nasal spray flu vaccine?

Children should have their nasal spray flu vaccination delayed if they:

are unwell with a fever or are wheezy
If your child has a fever, the vaccination can be delayed until they feel better.
If a child is wheezy or has been wheezy in the past week, their vaccination should be postponed until they have been wheeze-free for at least 3 days.
If a child has a heavily blocked or runny nose, it might stop the vaccine getting into their system. In this case, their flu vaccination can be postponed until their nasal symptoms have cleared up.

Video: Are you at risk from catching the flu?

Video: Are You at Risk? Diabetic Patients

The Community & School Aged Immunisation Service (CSAIS)

The contact details for parents wishing to make enquiries for vaccination schedules in schools, advice about the vaccination programmes or to book an appointment for missed immunisations is:

The main school aged immunisations are HPV, MenACWY and DTP, but the teams also deliver other programmes, as listed below:

Hertfordshire Community Trust can assist with: