Booking for this year's free NHS flu vaccine is now open, with appointments for people aged 65 and over, unpaid carers and frontline staff starting on 1 October.
Here's information from the Department of Health and Social Care about who's eligible, how to book and what to expect –whether that's for yourself or for the people you support.
How do I book a vaccine?
Booking for this year's free NHS flu vaccine is open in England, with appointments available from 1 October.
Booking takes minutes, which makes it an easy thing to put off. The case for doing it early is that protection takes around two weeks to build, and flu rarely waits for a convenient moment. You don’t need to wait for an invitation to book – booking is open now through the NHS App or online.
If you'd rather not book online, you can use the pharmacy finder to find walk-in appointments or call 119 and someone will sort the booking with you. Your GP practice or local pharmacy may also offer you a vaccine directly. If getting out of the house is difficult, ask your GP practice about a home visit.
Who can get a free vaccine?
If you're aged 65 or over, or you will be marking your 65th birthday by 31 March 2027, you can get this year’s vaccine for free. You'll also be offered it if you live in a care home, or are aged 18 to 64 with certain long-term health conditions.
The free vaccine is open to more people than many realise. You can have it if you're the main carer for an older or disabled person or receive Carer's Allowance, or if you live with someone who has a weakened immune system. Frontline health and social care workers can get theirs through their employer. Vaccinations for all these groups start on 1 October, and booking is open now.
Children and people who are pregnant are also offered the vaccine from 1 September. This could be especially important if there are grandchildren or younger relatives in the family, since vaccinating children reduces how much flu is circulating.
A full list of who can get the free vaccine in England is available on the NHS website. If you’re living in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland please be aware that these are separate programmes, and eligibility may differ.
Why does getting the flu vaccine matter?
Neither last winter's vaccine nor last winter's bout of flu will protect you this time round. Your immunity fades over the year, and the viruses themselves change between seasons. That's why the vaccine is offered again each autumn.
Flu can become far more serious than a heavy cold and can lead to pneumonia. It tends to hit harder and take longer to recover from as we get older, or when you're managing another health condition. The vaccine protects you from the worst of that and takes pressure off the NHS at its busiest point in the year.
Last winter, flu vaccines are estimated to have prevented around 104,000 hospital admissions and 7,100 deaths, in a season already busy with accidents, falls and complications from other health conditions.
What should I expect?
Adult flu vaccines are injections containing no live viruses, so they cannot give you flu. Most people have nothing worse than a sore arm or a slightly raised temperature for a day or two – considerably milder and shorter than flu itself. And if you do catch flu after being vaccinated, symptoms are usually milder and don't last as long.
Can I get other vaccines?
You may be able to have more than one vaccine at the same appointment.
The COVID-19 vaccine is offered from 1 October to adults aged 75 and over, care home residents, and anyone aged 6 months or over with a weakened immune system.
The RSV vaccine – for a winter virus that can be serious in older adults – is offered to people aged 75 and over, care home residents, pregnant women, and, new this year, 65- to 74-year-olds with a weakened immune system or certain lung conditions. It's available all year from your GP practice.
If you're not sure what you can have, ask your GP practice or pharmacy.
What about health and social care staff?
Your own vaccine is easily the one that slips. Anyone can carry and spread flu without ever feeling unwell – getting your own flu vaccine helps to protect the people you support too.
When encouraging others to get the vaccine, remember that for the people you care for, the barrier is rarely the decision. It's an appointment that's hard to get to, a reminder that came and went, or not knowing they can get the free vaccine in the first place. Removing one of these obstacles is often all it takes.
