Flu Vaccinations

You can get your flu vaccine here at Carnforth Pharmacy (subject to availability).

Flu vaccination is available every year on the NHS to help protect adults and children at risk of flu and its complications.

Flu can be unpleasant, but if you’re otherwise healthy, it’ll usually clear up on its own within a week.

But flu can be more severe in certain people, such as:

anyone aged 65 and over
pregnant women
children and adults with certain health conditions (such as long-term heart or respiratory disease)
children and adults with weakened immune systems

Anyone in these risk groups is more likely to develop potentially serious complications of flu, such as pneumonia (a lung infection), so it’s recommended that they have a flu vaccine every year to help protect them.

How effective is the flu vaccine?

Flu vaccine is the best protection we have against an unpredictable virus that can cause unpleasant illness in children and severe illness and death among at-risk groups, including older people, pregnant women and those with an underlying medical health condition.
Studies have shown that the flu vaccine will help prevent you getting the flu.
It will not stop all flu viruses and the level of protection may vary, so it’s not a 100% guarantee that you’ll be flu-free.
But if you do get flu after vaccination, it’s likely to be milder and shorter-lived than it would otherwise have been.
There’s also evidence to suggest that the flu vaccine can reduce your risk of having a stroke.
Over time, protection from the injected flu vaccine gradually decreases, and flu strains often change.
New flu vaccines are produced each year, which is why people advised to have the flu vaccine need it every year, too.

Flu vaccine side effects

Serious side effects of the injected flu vaccine are very rare.
You may have a mild fever and aching muscles for a couple of days after having the vaccine, and your arm may be a bit sore where you were injected.

When to have a flu vaccine

The best time to have a flu vaccine is in the autumn, from the beginning of October to the end of November but don’t worry if you have missed it, as you can have the vaccine later in winter – just ask us in store.

Is there anyone who should not have the flu vaccine?

Most adults can have the injected flu vaccine, but you should avoid it if you have had a serious allergic reaction to a flu vaccine in the past.
You can find out more by clicking the link below to read the answers to the most common questions that people have about the flu vaccine:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/who-should-have-flu-vaccine/

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