Covid-19 Vaccines

If you're eligible for a Covid-19 booster this autumn, you can now book it via the NHS website (or by calling 119):

Press Release: NHS England » NHS booking opens for life-saving Covid vaccinations

Online Booking: Book, cancel or change a COVID-19 vaccination appointment - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

[Some people will have already been invited for a vaccine by their GP surgery, etc)

The main groups of people eligible are those over 65, people with some underlying health conditions, pregnant women, carers, and frontline health and social staff.

If you want to check the full list of eligible health conditions, it's in Table 3 (on page 23) of

Greenbook chapter 14a (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Flu Vaccines

Flu vaccines are more widely available from many pharmacies - free on the NHS to similar groups of people who are eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine

Find a pharmacy that offers the NHS flu vaccine - NHS - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

The list of underlying health conditions that make you eligible for a flu vaccine are slightly different to those for the Covid-19 vaccine, so it's worth a check of the detail (on the link above) if you're unsure - for example, my asthma is severe enough to make me eligible for a free flu jab, but not a Covid-19 one.

It's also possible to book (and pay for) a flu vaccine at some pharmacies if you're not eligible for a free NHS jab (and some employers will make free vaccines available to their staff).

The general advice remains the same - if you're eligible for either of the vaccines, then it's best to take up that offer as soon as possible.

And if you've picked up any kind of respiratory infection (cold, flu, Covid, etc), then please take reasonable steps to avoid giving it to the rest of us - in particular, avoiding contact with those people who are more vulnerable to severe symptoms if they catch a respiratory illness.

Winter Weather

And yes, the damp autumn weather has arrived - with a Yellow Warning for Rain in place until tomorrow evening:

UK weather warnings - Met Office

That means it's also a good time to think about signing up to Flood Alerts and Flood Warnings if you haven't already - all the info is on here: Sign up for flood warnings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Remember that you can sign up for Flood Warnings for areas other than your home - you might want to get warnings for your workplace, your child's school, or for a relative?