Flu Vaccination eligibility
Seasonal flu vaccination is recommended each year for people with certain clinical conditions that could put them at risk. Initially the practice has been tasked with vaccinating the following patients:
- those aged 65 years and over
- those aged 18 to under 65 years in clinical risk groups
- children aged 2 to 3
- pregnant women
- those in long-stay residential care homes
- carers
- close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
If there is sufficient vaccine, the practice has subsequently been asked to vaccinate
- 50 to 64 year olds not in clinical risk groups (including those who turn 50 by 31 March 2023)
Please note that children between the ages of 4 years and 13 years will be given at school and not in the surgery.
Coronavirus Vaccination eligibility
The detailed eligibility criteria for the Autumn Coronavirus Booster is:
- Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
- frontline health and social care workers
- all adults aged 50 years and over
- persons aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group (including pregnant women)
- persons aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
- persons aged 16 to 49 years who are carers
Please note that a minimum of 91 days must have elapsed since your last coronavirus vaccination for you to be eligible and to book via the national booking service otherwise your booking will be rejected.
Vaccination Dates
There is currently considerable uncertainty regarding the delivery dates of both the flu vaccine and the coronavirus vaccine.
- The coronavirus Autumn Booster is scheduled to commence from 12 September 2022.
- The flu vaccine is scheduled for delivery from 19 September 2022.
Although we aim to offer eligible patients both vaccines together, the vaccines may not be physically available to the surgery because of scheduled delivery dates. This is not something the practices control.
We are planning to deliver flu and coronavirus booster doses together for our housebound patients as well as our residential and care home patients and this will be a focus of the programme for delivery from September 2022.
Electronic Text Message Reminders
Testvale Surgery will continue to send patients text message reminders for flu and coronavirus vaccinations as well as writing to patients who are at risk.
Please make sure you have informed the surgery of any changes in your mobile telephone number. Complete a slip on the reception desk to let us know of any telephone number changes.
Booking your appointment
The bookings for flu and coronavirus vaccines will run differently this year. Bookings will be made through the NHS National Booking Service rather than directly through the practice.
This means that patients will be required to book an appointment themselves by following the link www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination. This link will not be live until the 7 September 2022 and we will notify you when your age group is eligible to book.
Over 75’s will be contacted first.
We have found the volume of calls relating to each programme to be ever more complex and so believe that this will help us with more effective administration of the programmes.
- Flu vaccine for children
- Saturday clinics
- Home Visits
- Further Information
- Drop in Clinics
- Flu vaccine 50–64-year-olds
- Bivalent coronavirus vaccinations
Flu vaccine for children
This year, the surgery will offer the flu vaccine to all 2 and 3 year olds. Children aged 4 to 13 years old (Reception through to Year 9) will be vaccinated at school. Years 10 and 11 will be offered any remaining vaccine. For most children the vaccine is given as a simple nasal spray. However, If there are any reasons why it should not be given, an injection can be given as an alternative. If your child is eligible for the flu vaccination the surgery will contact you by letter.
Prior to bringing your child to the 2-3 year old vaccination clinics, please download and complete the attached form and bring it with you to hand to the nurse at your child's appointment. Thank you.
Saturday clinics
Our Saturday clinics are extremely popular with our patients and we regularly vaccinate hundreds of patients on these dates.
We are planning to run clinics on Saturdays and Sundays from 24 September 2022. However, this will be contingent on vaccine availability. We are currently planning clinics on the following Saturdays and Sundays throughout September and October 2022:
- Saturday 24 September 2022
- Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October 2022
- Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 October 2022
- Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 October 2022
- Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 October 2022
We will offer either flu or coronavirus or both to eligible patients and will either send a text message or letter to patients in early September 2022 to provide booking information.
Home Visits
if you are unable to attend the surgery and would like a home visit please ring the surgery on 02380 866 999 and we will be able to help.
Further information
For more information about how important it is to protect yourself from flu this winter by having a flu vaccination, please see the following link:
For helpful information and tips about winter health advice, winter illnesses and where to get help, as well as general information about keeping well this winter:
For general information about flu, how to identify whether you have got it and how to treat it, please see below:
This year, we will also offer the opportunity for patients to drop in for a flu vaccination without booking. This service will be available throughout October 2022.
We will open one site and schedule staff to give flu vaccines to those eligible.
A Totton surgery will be open during the morning session to manage drop ins and this service will be available after we have completed our Saturday drop-in sessions.
There will be no need to book and patients can simply pop into the surgery to get their vaccination. A text message or letter will be sent in early September 2022 to confirm the detail.
Flu vaccine 50–64-year-olds
For patients who have no underlying health conditions, it may be possible to vaccinate this cohort of patients. However, practices have been instructed not to vaccinate this group before the middle of October 2022 and only if sufficient vaccine is available.
Bivalent vaccines
The MHRA gave approval for a new bivalent Moderna vaccine in the middle of August 2022.
This means the vaccine is designed to target two strains of Covid-19 - the original strain of coronavirus plus the omicron mutation.
At this stage it is not clear which vaccine will be offered to Totton residents, but all are effective at preventing serious illness and death from Covid-19 infection.
