Dr Joubert, a GP at Medicare Français in London, answers your questions on the flu jab.
Why is getting your flu vaccine more important this winter than ever before?
It is not clear what this winter may hold for flu and Covid.
“Research from Public Health England, carried out in the first pandemic wave before any Covid vaccine had been made or given, suggests the risk of death is more than doubled for people who catch flu on top of coronavirus, compared to coronavirus alone.” (*0)
Is Covid really more dangerous than the Flu?
Both the seasonal flu and COVID-19 are extremely transmissible.
Comparing their respective R number, which is how many people one infected person will infect on average, researchers have found that the average R rate of the flu to be 1.27, meaning that if 100 people are infected, they will pass it on to 127 others(*1)
For COVID-19, the latest R rate in England is between 1.0 and 1.1 This means for every 100 people who catch Covid, 100 others or 110 will be infected by them.
Also “[d]uring a typical influenza season it has been estimated that approximately 75% of the seasonal influenza infections are asymptomatic.” (*3) Whereas about 40% of COVID cases are suspected to be asymptomatic. (*4)
Who does the flu jab protect?
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Yourself: by getting the flu vaccine, you reduce the risk of potential co-infection with Covid, which may result in more severe disease.
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- Others: you also reduce the risk to pass on the disease to others, especially the vulnerable groups.
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- Healthcare resources: by reducing the risk of admission to hospital, the flu vaccine will help reduce the pressure on healthcare facilities.
Who is the Flu vaccine for?
All persons aged 6 months and older are recommended for annual vaccination.
People with severe, life-threatening allergies to a flu vaccine or any ingredient in the vaccine should not get the flu shot.
Can the flu vaccine be harmful?
It is very rare for anyone to have a serious allergic reaction to the flu vaccine.
There are no long-term side effects from the flu vaccine.
What symptoms can I expect after the vaccination?
The sides effects are usually mild and last for 1-2 days:
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- Slightly raised temperature
- Muscle aches
- Soreness at the injection site
Where can I get jabbed?
According to the NHS quoted on the BBC, “free flu vaccines will be offered this winter to children aged two to 16 in England, as well as people aged 50 and over or in “at-risk” groups, amid the double threat of Covid and influenza.”
Furthermore, when the programme begins in September, the flu vaccine will be available for free on the NHS to:
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- all children aged two to on 31 August 2021
- all children in primary school and all secondary school pupils aged 11 to 16
- those aged six months to under 50 years in clinical risk groups
- pregnant women
- those aged 50 years and over
- unpaid carers
- close contacts of people with weak immune systems (immunocompromised individuals)
- front-line health and adult social care staff
For the others, you can book a flu shot here with one of our Health practitioners:
(*0)[Source: BBC News, England plans biggest winter flu vaccine rollout (17 July 2021) [Accessed 30 August 2021] <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57867955>]
(*1)[Source: Biggerstaff, M., Cauchemez, S., Reed, C. et al. Estimates of the reproduction number for seasonal, pandemic, and zoonotic influenza: a systematic review of the literature. BMC Infect Dis 14, 480 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-14-480].
(*2)[Accessed 02 September 2021.]
(*3)[Accessed 02 September 2021].
(*4) https://www.pnas.org/content/118/34/e2109229118
