NHS frontline staff urged to get flu jab as soon as possible

FRONTLINE staff at the NHS have been urged to get their annual flu jab as soon as possible, as the first vaccine deliveries start to reach employers this week.

A record 30 million people are eligible for a free vaccine this year, through an expanded flu vaccination programme for both the public and frontline health and social care workers.

Frontline staff are at higher risk of catching flu due to their contact with patients and those they care for.

With the first batches of this year’s vaccines beginning to arrive, hospitals and other local NHS organisations across England will be starting to run drop-in clinics and promotional activity with the aim of ensuring that every eligible member of staff is able to get it this year.

There is also an expanded offer for frontline social care workers, who are all eligible to get a free flu vaccination from a GP or pharmacy.

Pharmacists are able to deliver the vaccination to residential care staff where they work to make it easier for them to get their jab.

Staff who contract flu require time off work, putting pressure on services at what can be the busiest time of the year any year.

Research suggests that a 10 per cent increase in NHS staff vaccination reduces healthcare worker sickness absence by the same amount.

However, some infections only result in mild or unnoticeable symptoms – meaning staff can then unknowingly pass the virus to vulnerable people they come into contact with.

Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, wrote in an open letter to more than one million frontline NHS staff: “The flu has a serious impact on the health of thousands of people every winter, and with the added risk of Covid-19 this year, the NHS needs as many of its staff as possible to be fighting fit over the coming months.

“Just as we are making every effort to stop the spread of coronavirus in our hospitals, so we must also do the same for flu.

“Getting a vaccine is the single most effective way every member of our staff can contribute to this.”