Free 'normal' Flu vaccine for those over 50 (1 Viewer)

[Brains]

Ever since the Swine Flu outbreak back in about 2007 the company I used to work for, despite having an average age of about 35, insisted on a flu jab for all (paid for by the company).

I had an enforced 4 weeks in lockdown back 2009 as I got the flu, but not the flu hat we had all been vaccinated against, so this 'lockdown' idea was not new to me!

Now I'm (semi) retired, I still went ahead and paid £12 for my 2020 flue jab back in October, usual 4 weeks of not being able to lift with my left arm, (again)

As soon as they roll out the COVID19 vaccination, I'll be first in the queue after the over 65's and the cronics.

 

[The Lord Squid]

********* I didn't know that. Thanks will save me a fortune.

My pleasure. I don't know why chemists don't actively tell their regular customers about it.

 

[Googlebot]

Ask anyone who works in ITU and they will tell you how it is full of patients who just had the flu......

I have mine every year and I am only just past my thirties.

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[fullfat]

Ask anyone who works in ITU and they will tell you how it is full of patients who just had the flu......jab

I have mine every year and I am only just past my thirties.

 

[jdk62]

Damn....... I qualify...!

 

[Googlebot]

That was naughty, took me a while to spot it.

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[fullfat]

Sorry just my humour

 

[ChrisL]

I had a Pneumococcal inoculation in September and rang the surgery today about the flu jab they said no appointment necessary, just turn up any morning Monday to Friday. I'm 66, but they've never asked me to pay for the flu jab, they've always given it to me free.

 

[Deep Owl]

Had my flu jab at the GP’s on 5th of October; the only pain was having to wear a mask over my nose.

The first one I had, as a trainee in 1976, put me in bed for 3 days! I didn’t have another till 10 years ago!

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[Minxy]

I paid for it for quite a few years,,Would have happily paid a lot more.Believe me flu isnt a very nice experience,,BUSBY.

You're quite right it isn't, I had it many, many years ago in my 20s and it laid me out for 3 weeks! People who've never had it won't understand just how much worse it is than a bad cold which is what a lot of people call flu.

It's not free, we pay our NI for the privilege. I also pay £165 a year for prescription drugs.
Perhaps the shortfall for those in need is due to the increase in the more affluent paying for it.

Waaaaaay too much being paid there ... an annual pre-payment cert (PPC) is £105.90 however you can get it even cheaper than that if you work your dates.

I get 3 x 3 month ones each year which cost £88.95 in total. I just time it so that I order one of my meds which I can only get 1 month's supply of at a time, and for which the prescription is only valid for 28 days once issued, then buy a 3 month PPC the day before the prescription expires (ie day 27) and pick it up then. Ordering my meds online the 1 month supply one can actually be ordered again 3 weeks later rather than 4 as you would expect, so within the 3 month PPC I can actually get 4 month's worth of these meds. My other one is for 2 months supply at a time so not as critical but this can be ordered every 7 weeks so if I get the timing right I'll get 3 lots of it too as the prescription for this one doesn't run out in such a short period of time so can order it quite a while before I get the PPC.

It sounds pratty but isn't, just keep a note of when you can order it again on your calendar, diary etc. By being able to order every 3 weeks instead of 4, or 7 instead of 8, you can gradually build up a few months to cover you for when you go on holiday without having to grovel to the doctor for more than usual as mine will only issue extra months if I see them (or at least that's what it used to be before CV!) which is ludicrous as it's literally a rubber stamp job and just wastes their time and mine.

 

[carolyn]

I wonder if they will give you the flu jab and the Covid jab at the same time?

The latest advice from the BMA is that you should leave a gap of 7 days with the Pfizer and Astra Zenica ones. I presume it’s because they are so new and they want to be sure about which one , if any are causing side effects. Especially with the Pfizer one which is the new RNA technology one.

 

[Sunnyb]

Had flu 2 years on the trot 30 years ago,,never felt so ill in my life,,have had flu jab every year since then, definately don't want flu ever again.BUSBY.

Likewise... I had flu once about 15 years ago, started 23rd December on way home from work for Christmas and lasted for 2 weeks. Worst I have ever felt ... agonising sore throat, headache, whole body aching, fever ...not a good Christmas but one I have never forgotten and I hope never to have it again. Ever since I have had a jab annually, paid for privately although for the last 5 years my employer has paid for it. Have had it done in Boots, Tesco ... other shops are available...
This year I had it done at Boots but there was an initial delay and one appointment was cancelled due to difficulty in getting the vaccine. Also a bit of a faff when I got to Boots over whether my booking was ‘valid’ but got there in the end.
Re GP surgeries and free vaccines for the over-50s, we had a text message from our surgery yesterday saying they were aware of press reports about this but please don’t call them about appointments as they are not ready yet.

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[carolyn]

Prof van Tam said on the briefing yesterday that GP surgeries will contact patients directly , as does the BMA info sent directly to GPs. They don’t want everyone phoning their surgeries. They have enough to do!

 

[filopastry]

It is amazing with the advance of technology the size of the needle. I am scared to death of injections but I had my flue jab the other and the nurse stepped away and I asked" Is there a problem, why have you not done the jab? " she looked at me puzzled and said "its done !"

well, I don't mind having other jabs not.

 

[busby]

It is amazing with the advance of technology the size of the needle. I am scared to death of injections but I had my flue jab the other and the nurse stepped away and I asked" Is there a problem, why have you not done the jab? " she looked at me puzzled and said "its done !"

well, I don't mind having other jabs not.

Unlike the needles they used in the armed services 50 years ago,,they were like darning needles and were not disposable,,inoculations were like a production line..Think we had one for every disease known to mankind..BUSBY..

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[Mark and Mindy]

I was at the doctor's a couple of years ago with a shoulder impingement and was grabbed and "stabbed" for a flu jab as I was high risk - this year nothing has changed, I'm still as I was then, so presumably still high risk but did get the normal snotty newsletter from the surgery saying that those eligible would get an email telling them when their appointment slot would be. Needless to say, I didn't get one. I've no idea how I could be high risk one year and not high risk another especially after the earlier "seriously ill" hospital stay this year.

 

[Smudger55]

I had a Pneumococcal inoculation in September and rang the surgery today about the flu jab they said no appointment necessary, just turn up any morning Monday to Friday. I'm 66, but they've never asked me to pay for the flu jab, they've always given it to me free.

Any one 65yrs and over are entitled to a free flu jab. Smudger55

 

[Smudger55]

I have to say it annoys me when likes of pharmacies/supermarkets encourage the "healthy" public to buy a flu jab when more often than not GP surgeries are struggling with supplies to vaccinate the "at risk" group of patients under 65yrs and the patients 65yrs and over. Any had mine as over 65yrs. Keeping free of the flu. SMUDGER55

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[pappajohn]

Not much point as no one has died of normal flu this year apparently

Nobody has died of anything but Covid this year.

 

[sedge]

I seriously don't know why the hell anyone who has enough regular income to run a vehicle of any kind regularly - like children, they cost money on an ongoing basis - objects to paying £10 or £20 for things for their health. The NHS said on the tin that it protects us from cradle to grave - but neither Nye Bevan nor anyone else foresaw that all women would ever expect their babies to be born in a hospital, did they?

In April 1950 when I popped out, you were only allowed to have your first birth free in hospital courtesy of the NHS. As my maternal grandma had died in January 1950 and my sister was nearly 4, mom & dad had decided to pay for me to be born in hospital. To reduce the cost they'd opted for mom to be in a shared room rather than a private one. However an NHS emergency came in hence the chosen room had to be shared so they waived the fee!

I'd happily pay for my flu jab anyway, having had flu over Xmas when I was 40-ish - someone said you know when you have flu, because even the hair on your head hurts. I remember just starting to cry one day because I felt so B awful and hopeless, but couldn't even do that because it hurt too much. No way could I get to the bathroom (approx 10 steps from my side of the bed) so had to have a bucket in the bedroom. EEE_yuck. You absolutely don't want it. Covid is worse than that apparently so even if a Covid vaccination would cost me a couple of hundred quid I'd pay it and for 2 daughters, a son in law, 7 grandkids, 2 of their partners and the 5 greats - I'd pay for all of them if necessary even though none of them are blood relatives. None of the credit cards are maxed.

Anyone who has ever been anywhere 'hot and exotic' by choice on holiday knows upfront certain places require you to show proof you've been vaccinated against eg Yellow Fever or Typhoid before they'll even let you in - India and the Dominican Republic for instance. Plus the course of anti malarial pills started prior to travel (if you want them to work) for most of them. You can't avoid getting bitten by the ruddy things if you ever go outdoors is the only snag really, and they love the taste of my blood - I've been a 'midge' magnet since I was born so unless I wear a space suit, I can't see that stopping till I pop me clogs. (Deet helps but you can't physically immerse yourself in it!) They are like the earthworm - cosmopolitan.

Prescription 'season tickets' are brilliant and they were available for certain conditions by the 1970s - in 1972 when I was DX diabetic, my best mate's mom had one cos she was asthmatic - they were £35 then! But lots of additional conditions have been added to the 'exempt' list by now so it;s always worth asking when you get a new diagnosis and you're still under age!

 

[tribalbrit]

As others have said. Encouraging more and more people to pay for the flu jab results in fewer being available for the GP's to administer to those most at risk.
Every one paid for by a person not really at risk is one less available for those that are most at risk and not necessarily in a position to pay for it either.
Local Authorities, Businesses, etc. Are buying up numerous quantities to administer en-mass. Resulting in a shortfall at the GP's
Even if you can afford it, as I'm sure we all can on here, spare a thought for those that can not.

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[Sapper520]

Our GP Surgery said we could have ours for free, once they get to our age group.....no mention of a shortage, just the time it was taking to get people through.

They just needed time to do all the others in front of us.

I can assure you, neither I or my wife would do any queue jumping. I enquired, Asda had dealt with all the 'Free' customers first, and were now offering the jab to anyone else.

 

[Onemanandhisdog]

I'm no doctor but there must be some kind oh hierarchy where the doctors get their allocation before the supermarkets etc.

 

[bigalw35]

I'm no doctor but there must be some kind oh hierarchy where the doctors get their allocation before the supermarkets etc.

Not so much supermarkets, as the chemist department is a pharmacy in their own right, just operating in a supermarket ??

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[Smudger55]

I'm no doctor but there must be some kind oh hierarchy where the doctors get their allocation before the supermarkets etc.

Fraid not, each GP surgery places their order almost a year in advance and are then beholden to the supplier on what volume they can have and when. This is compounded by different types of flu vaccines they now have to order. GP surgeries have to buy numbers of vaccines in away that equate to how many they think they can use and what they get back on sale/return. They do not have luxury of "OVER" ordering. The supply to GP surgeries is then dependant on the strain of the vaccine, if it is ready in time as are pharmacies/supermarkets but they have a massive advantage with regards to volumes they can order and a more flexible approach to the way they vaccinate people. GP surgeries are also constrained by how they can vaccinate their patients governed by service specifications around the cohorts of patients there are allowed to vaccinate. Dare I say supermarkets/pharmacies are a little more laxed on this because they are not governed as tightly as GP surgeries. As a rule GP surgeries cannot charge NHS patients. Unfortunately their is no heirarchy for GPs but at the end of the day it's trying to provide the public with a flexible approach to keep them well.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Very conflicted...
I don't think I've ever had Flu - had some nasty bugs, but none that entirely match Flu symptoms.
Was offered a jab about a decade ago because of slight asthma - never took it.
When got to 60, surprised the goal posts had moved to 65
Now back down to 50, and some talk that any vaccination wakes your system so maybe able to fight off Covid better...
Dunno?

 

[sedge]

Well they are supposed to do that ... but sometimes the T cells get a bit over confident and having bashed whatever they were supposed to fight to death, go on a bit of a killing spree and kill off heathy cells they weren't supposed to - and that's how I landed up getting Type 1 diabetes - any auto-immune disease is caused by exactly that - so eg hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis and quite a lot of other conditions are caused by this too. Apparently, probably started in chain by having some sort of viral gastric bug in the February of 1972, so by the time the Munich Summer Olympics started, I was in hospital.

We've seen a number of people recently who have joined the Diabetes UK forum, post Covid. Can't say that's been mega surprising to a lot of us, frankly.

Just one of the things collectively gathered under the heading Long Covid.

Soooooo - might be best to have the vaccine, cos you just never can tell what else you might get lumbered with should you be exposed to a Covid virus particle. I'm going to be a bit fearful TBH because my T cells have already shown they can have minds of their own although it's nearly 50 years ago when they first did it, in between then and now I've also managed to become hypothyroid too - so all of us T1s who have the vaccination are going to be a 'very interesting' clinical trial!

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[Silver-Fox]

I seriously don't know why the hell anyone who has enough regular income to run a vehicle of any kind regularly - like children, they cost money on an ongoing basis - objects to paying £10 or £20 for things for their health

Maybe because most people have already paid for treatment via N I contributions

If you stand on a rusty nail you get a jab this prevents you having to have further treatment and so doing costing even more money.

If I need a jab and it’s provided via the NHS I have it.
If I go abroad and one isn’t provided I pay.

 

[Red Sonja]

I'm in the vulnerable group and I normally get my flu jab done at the Chemist free of charge as its more convenient than going to the Drs. My Husband had flu 35 years ago. Came home from work on a Friday feeling achy. I called the Dr for a home visit on the Monday. He diagnosed flu. Kevin was in bed for over 2 weeks and it took him nearly another 2 to build his muscles back up and go back to work. He also said even the hair on his head hurt. I had a milder case of it but still bedridden for 2 weeks. I never want it again.

 

[Deneb]

Very conflicted...
I don't think I've ever had Flu - had some nasty bugs, but none that entirely match Flu symptoms.
Was offered a jab about a decade ago because of slight asthma - never took it.
When got to 60, surprised the goal posts had moved to 65
Now back down to 50, and some talk that any vaccination wakes your system so maybe able to fight off Covid better...
Dunno?

Depends whether you want to run the risk of having flu and covid together, or trying to fight one off whilst still suffering or recovering from the other. Why wouldn't you have a flu vaccination, unless you're in the very small minority that suffer a severe reaction from it?

Contrary to some peoples' assertions, you can't catch flu from the vaccination. It contains inert virus or protein, but it does take a few weeks for you to become protected after the jab, so those who say they went down with flu straight after having the jab probably caught what they were going to catch anyway.

I've had the vaccination every year, and paid for it, since seeing my father as an otherwise healthy 46 year old nearly die from the flu many years ago.

It can't offer 100% protection, since they have to make an educated guess each year as to which strains to vaccinate against. Last year, they got it spot on, but some years a different strain can emerge. It's got to be better than nothing though, surely? And as you say, it does exercise your immune system to some extent.

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