The children’s nasal spray flu vaccine is safe and effective. It’s offered every year to children to help protect them against flu.

Flu is caused by the influenza virus. It can be a very unpleasant illness for children. It can also lead to serious problems, such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

Children can catch and spread flu easily. Vaccinating them also protects others who are vulnerable to flu, such as babies and older people.

Where to have the flu vaccine

Please contact the surgery on 0191 496 3770 to book your child’s flu vaccination/nasal.

The flu vaccine is a safe and effective vaccine. It’s offered every year on the NHS to help protect people at risk of getting seriously ill from flu.

The best time to have the flu vaccine is in the autumn or early winter before flu starts spreading. But you can get the vaccine late

Who can have the flu vaccine?

The flu vaccine is given free on the NHS to people who:

The below groups will be eligible for a flu vaccine from 1 September 2023:

• those aged 65 years and over
• those aged 6 months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups
• pregnant women
• all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2023
• primary school aged children (from Reception to Year 6)
• those in long-stay residential care homes ^{[footnote 1]}
• carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
• close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
• frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or Personal Health budgets, such as Personal Assistants

All eligible patients who have a valid mobile number on the system will have received a text with a direct booking link to book your appointment.

If you are eligible but can’t access the link or don’t have a mobile number on our system, please contact the surgery to arrange an appointment 0191 496 3770.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – FACE COVERINGS

COVID-19 is still with us, and the safety of NHS patients, visitors and staff is our top priority.

We appreciate face coverings are no longer mandatory in NHS settings however we kindly ask that if you have cold or flu symptoms or a respiratory condition you consider wearing a face covering for the duration of your appointment. This will help protect both yourself and our clinical staff.

NHS teams will continue to take other infection prevention and control measures to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and other infections in health and care settings.

It is important for the public to continue to play their part when visiting NHS and care settings to help protect our staff and patients, particularly those who may be more vulnerable to infections.

For more info, visit https://www.england.nhs.uk/…/nhs-patients-staff-and…/

Organ donation in England has moved to an ‘opt out’ system. You may also hear it referred to as ‘Max and Keira’s Law’.

This means that all adults in England will be considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die unless they have recorded a decision not to donate or are in one of the excluded groups.

Your family will still be approached and your faith, beliefs and culture will continue to be respected.

You still have a choice whether or not you wish to become a donor. You can get more information or choose to opt out by visiting https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/​