NHS Flu Communications…clear as mud. who writes them…

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Arthuritis
Arthuritis Member Posts: 444
in Living with arthritis

Who can have the flu vaccine?

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

  • are 65 and over (including those who will be 65 by 31 March 2024)
  • have certain health conditions
  • are pregnant
  • are in long-stay residential care
  • receive a carer's allowance, or are the main carer for an older or disabled person who may be at risk if you get sick
  • *live with someone* who is more likely to get a severe infection due to a weakened immune system, such as someone living with HIV, someone who has had a transplant, or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus or *rheumatoid arthritis*

What?? So a healthy carer of someone with RA can have a flu vax, but the RA sufferer can not?

It gets worse…

Or perhaps they meant in a convoluted way… a sufferer is also a self-carer? 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/flu-influenza-vaccine/

Can Versus seek a clarification?

Comments

  • Hairobsessed123
    Hairobsessed123 Member Posts: 160
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    I think it comes under certain health conditions on my message from nhs there was link and our medications allow us a free flu jab @Arthuritis hope this helps xxx

  • Arthuritis
    Arthuritis Member Posts: 444
    edited 13. Oct 2023, 23:32
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    @Hairobsessed123 Thanks! I got a seasonal jab email too, regarding our condition, and on reading the word seasonal in the subject line assumed it to be flu related, but no. It wasn’t, it was Covid jabs! (which i am not taking as I probably have had all the recent Covid flavours in circulation). But I agree with you, I think it does come under certain health conditions… I wish they had thought through what they wrote. Eg “if you or anyone you are a carer for have this list of conditions “… or the GP to give eligible patients an appropriate code. Or best;, they already know about our condition so instead of a long list of guess work and complex judgement interpretstions just said - Here’s what you are eligible for, go book it. Sorry… just annoyed at how they make simple things complicated.

  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,444
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    I totally agree it's just so ambiguous!

    Booked mine and my daughter's yesterday (she has epilepsy and is in remission from cancer) after our GP sent us 'the text' and email all the time unsure whether we really qualify this time🙄

    I think anyone taking MTX does indeed qualify.

    Take care both

    Toni x

  • JenHB
    JenHB Member Posts: 133
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    I'm on MTX (and hydroxychloroquine) for RA and had the text from my surgery inviting me to book flu jab. Later I got a separate text to book covid jab but when I went for my flu jab the GP was able to do covid at the same time

  • Trish9556
    Trish9556 Member Posts: 527
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    Just had my flu, covid booster and my pneumonia jab and feel like the proverbial pincushion.

    I think they don't use plain English in the vain hope that people don't take up the jabs. I don't get any choice, I just get given a date.

    They're in contention for my mallet of the year award.

    Trish xx

  • Hermione
    Hermione Member Posts: 16
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    Chapter and verse from gov.uk is here in the Green Book chapter 19 on flu vaccination (see table 19.4 on p15 for definitions of eligibility)

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/influenza-the-green-book-chapter-19

    So if you think you’re eligible but your GP has not invited you, you could ask them why not.

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