NHS flu vaccine found to offer protection against COVID-19

NHS flu vaccine found to offer protection against COVID-19

Introduction: What is the NHS flu vaccine?

 Due to the number of people in the UK, there is a high risk of an outbreak of flu. The NHS offers a free flu vaccination to all people at risk or over 65 years old.

 This vaccine can work in two ways: it stops you from getting ill with the disease or stops you from passing on the virus to someone else.

 The vaccinations are free to anyone who works with vulnerable groups, pregnant women, children aged six months to two years, and those aged 65 or older.

 The NHS Flu Vaccine is an injection that contains either one or two strains of influenza virus-specific for that season. It helps protect you against getting influenza, and if you do get it, it protects other people from catching it.

What Happens When You Get The NHS Flu Vaccine?

 The NHS flu vaccination is a service to the public, and it's important to make an informed decision about whether you want to get vaccinated or not.

 What happens when you get an NHS flu jab?

 The NHS flu vaccine is commissioned annually by the Department of Health. The vaccine contains three strains of influenza virus: two A viruses and one B virus. You can be offered an NHS vaccination if:

 - You're aged 18 years or over, and you're in one of the following groups:

- Have chronic heart disease

- Have chronic respiratory disease

- Is pregnant

- Living in a long-stay residential care home or nursing home and have to contact people who are at risk of complications from influenza

 The NHS flu vaccine has been found to offer protection against the COVID-19 strand of the flu.

 The NHS vaccine is one of the few vaccines which helps provide protection against both influenza A and B strains of the virus. The new research suggests that it could also offer some protection against COVID-19, a strain that has been linked to more severe illness and possibly longer hospital stays.

 NHS England has said that they are aiming to vaccinate up to 25% of frontline staff this year, with around 600,000 individuals eligible nationally.

 NHS England is urging all frontline healthcare professionals eligible for a free vaccination to take up their offer for flu protection. Some people mistakenly think there's no point in getting vaccinated because they don't come into direct contact with patients or carriers.