Publish date: 19 January 2023
Get your jabs this winter – reminder from Northumberland health chiefs
Health professionals in Northumberland are reminding eligible people to get their flu and Covid vaccinations this winter to help avoid serious illness.
With colder weather arriving this week and increasing numbers of people being hospitalised with flu, local clinicians are urging those eligible to get the jabs where they can.
National NHS data published last week shows the numbers of patients in hospital with flu are still much higher than they have been since the pandemic hit, while the number of patients in critical care with the virus has hit its highest yet this winter.
More than 20 million people in England have had their flu jabs, according to new national NHS figures, including around four in five people aged 65 and over, as well as more than three in five of those aged 50 to 64.
However, there are still a number of eligible people who have not taken up their winter vaccinations, placing themselves at an increased risk of serious illness.
Dr Alistair Blair, a GP in Northumberland and executive medical director for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It’s not too late to get your winter vaccinations.
“We’re seeing many more people unwell with flu this year, so if you’re eligible and have not had them since September, I would strongly urge you book your winter jabs to protect yourself and your loved ones.”
To find out more or to book your free NHS vaccinations, visit www.
Those eligible for the flu jab are:
- People aged 50 and over
- Those aged between six months and 49 years with a specified health condition
- Some secondary school-aged children
- Two and three-year-olds
- Pregnant women
- Primary school-aged children
- Those in care homes
- People who are carers, as set out in the Green Book
- Frontline healthcare workers
- Frontline social care staff who do not have access to occupational health schemes
- Household contacts of people with weakened immune systems.