Flu has come early this year and experts predict it could be a particularly nasty season because a new strain of the virus is circulating.<\/p>\n
The NHS has already sent out a \u00ab\u00a0flu jab SOS\u00a0\u00bb to vulnerable people.<\/p>\n
How bad might this winter be, and should you buy a flu jab even if you are generally fit and have to pay for it?<\/p>\n
The NHS offers a free flu vaccine to people who need it most, including:<\/p>\n
Frontline health and social care workers can also get a flu vaccine through their employer.<\/p>\n
A nasal spray version of the flu vaccine is also offered to children aged 2 to 3 years as well as school-aged children (reception to year 11).<\/p>\n
Children can catch and spread flu easily. Vaccinating them also helps protect others who are at higher risk of getting seriously ill from flu.<\/p>\n
Everyone else has to buy one.<\/p>\n
Even if you are healthy, you might still want to buy a flu vaccine this winter.<\/p>\n
Vaccines still work against the drifted influenza A(H3N2) strain that some are calling \u00ab\u00a0super flu\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
High street chemists sell the vaccine for around \u00a320.<\/p>\n
It’s best to get vaccinated sooner to protect yourself during winter.<\/p>\n
The vaccine usually takes up to 14 days to work.<\/p>\n
During this period, you’re still vulnerable to catching the virus.<\/p>\n
Some people mistakenly think the vaccine has given them flu, but the vaccine does not cause flu – instead, it gives your body the instructions it needs to fight off an infection should you catch it.<\/p>\n
There’s still a chance you might get flu after getting vaccinated, but it’s likely to be milder and not last as long.<\/p>\n
Protection decreases over time which is why a vaccine is offered every year.<\/p>\n
The vaccine is frequently updated to best match the strain or version of flu that experts expect will be circulating.<\/p>\n
There are lots of coughs and colds doing the rounds. So how do you know if you have flu rather than something else? Your symptoms can give a clue.<\/p>\n
Colds<\/p>\n
Flu<\/p>\n
Covid<\/p>\n
If you’re meeting people indoors, open a window for fresh air.<\/p>\n
Practise good hygiene:<\/p>\n
If you are unwell but must go out, consider wearing a face mask to help protect others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Flu has come early this year and experts predict it could be a particularly nasty season because a new strain of the virus is circulating. The NHS has already sent out a \u00ab\u00a0flu jab SOS\u00a0\u00bb to vulnerable people. How bad might this winter be, and should you buy a flu jab even if you are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}