Radiographers are among the healthcare workers being targeted in a national drive to boost take-up of the flu vaccination this year.
The evidence suggests that a 10 per cent increase in flu vaccinations among NHS staff leads to a 10 per cent decrease in the number of absences from work. The first vaccinations are available now.
A letter urging staff to be vaccinated to protect themselves and vulnerable patients at a time when a Covid-19 is circulating has been sent by the chief professions officers for England to more than a million NHS staff members.
Last year the uptake in the NHS was a record 74.3%, increasing by 33,000 members of staff vaccinated compared to the previous year.
Suzanne Rastrick, chief allied health professions officer for NHS England, said: ‘Each year we ask our colleagues to protect themselves, their families and their patients by taking up the free flu jab, and every year more and more do - but this year, with the added risk of Covid-19, the call is more important than ever.
‘If you’re a frontline health or care professional, getting your flu jab is the most effective way to protect yourself and those you care for from what can be a serious and even fatal illness.’
Drop-in clinics and promotional activity will begin across the whole of the NHS with the aim of vaccinating everyone who is eligible. A record 30 million people are eligible for a free flu vaccine this year with the criteria expanded for health workers and the public.
Free print, digital and social materials with the shield motif for employers running flu vaccination campaigns are available from Public Health England.
Myths about the flu:
You are less likely to get it if you are healthy Not true
You will fall very ill if you have the fluNot always, you can have the flu and not show any symptoms
The flu is just a bad coldNo, on average more than 11,000 people die each year from the flu
You can get the flu from the flu jab Wrong, the flu jab protects you from the strain of flu circulating that year
You can get the flu vaccine at any time No, the earlier you are vaccinated the better, to ensure you’re covered before the virus starts to circulate.