The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust will begin rolling out the national COVID-19 booster and flu vaccination programme on Thursday 3 October.
COVID-19 and flu spread more easily in winter when we spend more time together indoors and vaccination is the best protection against these viruses. If you are vaccinated and catch flu or COVID-19 you are likely to have milder symptoms and recover faster, reducing the risk of hospitalisation
The winter vaccine programme focuses on those at greatest risk of getting seriously ill and those eligible for vaccinations this year are:
COVID-19
Adults aged 65 years and over
Residents in a care home for older adults
Individuals aged six months to 64 years in a clinical risk groups
Frontline NHS and social care workers, and those working in care homes for older people
Flu
Children aged two and three years on 31 August 2024
Eligible school aged children (Reception to Year 11)
Individuals aged six months to 64 years in a clinical risk group
Pregnant women
Adults aged 65 years and over
Those in long-stay residential care homes
Carers, those in receipt of carer’s allowance or main carer of an older or disabled person
Household contacts of immunocompromised individuals
Frontline health and social care workers
From Monday 23 September vaccination teams nationally will begin vaccinating those residents in care homes.
The national booking system for public clinics will open on Monday 23 September, for appointments from Thursday 3 October to Friday 20 December.
Carolyn Mills, Chief Nursing Officer at the Royal Devon, said: “Vaccination plays a huge part in keeping the most vulnerable people well through the autumn and winter, and we urge everyone who is eligible to come forward and have theirs.”
