4th September 2023

Invitation to book your FLU & COVID Vaccine appointment

Firstly, we would like to say thank you for your continued support in booking your vaccine with your registered GP practice. This is really important to us, so thank you.

Vaccination is an essential part of protecting the public and the NHS over the colder months. Whilst it is difficult to predict the impact of Flu and Covid, expert advice is clear that this year, since Omicron (variant of Covid) first emerged, the most concerning variant of Omicron is predicted.

The most appropriate intervention is to get vaccinated as soon as possible. You are receiving this newsletter/invite as you fall into one of the eligible criteria for a Flu and Covid vaccine:

Eligibility for both Covid and Flu vaccination are:

• residents in a care home for older adults
• all adults aged 65 years and over
• persons aged 16 to 64 years in a clinical risk group, as defined in tables 3 and 4 of the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book
• frontline health and social care workers without an employer led occupational health scheme
• persons aged 16 to 64 years who are household contacts, as defined in the Green Book, of people with immunosuppression
• persons aged 16 to 64 years who are carers, as defined in the Green Book, and staff working in care homes for older adults
• Young people aged 12-16 years will be contacted direct by the national vaccine team to book an appointment and will need to receive their Covid vaccine at an alternative vaccine site.

Cohorts who are only eligible for a Flu vaccination and can still book with your GP Practice are:

• pregnant ladies
• all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2023

Cohorts who are only eligible for a Flu vaccination, but will we be vaccinated at school are:

• Children primary school aged (from Reception to Year 6)

We are holding Saturday clinics on:

• Kingskerswell Health Centre: Saturday 30th September 2023
• Ipplepen Health Centre Saturday 7th October 2023

Please note that you must book your appointment, this is not a walk in.

To book your appointment please do one of the following:

We will shortly be sending a link to your mobile, when booking your appointment, you will need to enter your date of birth. If your date of birth is: 6th June 1948, then start with the year of your birth, then the month and lastly the date. If your household shares an email address you CAN still book both appointments but you will get 2 links that will link specifically to each date of birth. Once the date of birth is confirmed you will see ‘Available Session’, select from the drop-down box to include the dates above. If there is a message displayed ‘There are no available sessions.’ then you do not have the right date range showing.

If you cannot book using the link provided you will be able to book via the telephone, details to follow tomorrow.

Vaccine supply

Practices purchase their own Flu vaccines and order these a year in advance, when we invite you for your vaccination there is no hesitation (unless you are deemed clinically unwell enough on the day) that you will receive your flu vaccination at your appointment.

The supply of Covid vaccines are sourced from a national supply and can only be ordered a week prior to your appointment. We will of course do everything we can to ensure we have a Covid vaccine for you, however, there is a small possibility that at your appointment your Covid vaccine may not have arrived. In this situation we will of course do our best to rebook and you will still continue to receive your Flu vaccination.

If Covid vaccine supplies are limited, then we will vaccinate according to clinical priority. Again, we will do everything in our control to minimise the risk of this and to ensure co-administration of both vaccines in one appointment.