Flu will often get better on its own, but it can make some people seriously ill. It's important to get the flu vaccine if you're advised to.
Flu symptoms and how to treat yourself can be found on nhs.uk
It is important to get protected, even if you have had a vaccine or been ill with flu before, as immunity fades over time and these viruses change each year.
Flu vaccines are safe and effective. They're offered every year on the NHS to help protect people at risk of flu and its complications.
Those eligible for a flu vaccine are:
From 1 September 2025:
- pregnant women
- all children aged 2 or 3 years old on 31 August 2025
- primary school aged children (from Reception to year 6)
- secondary school aged children (from year 7 to Year 11)
- all children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to less than 18 years
From the 1st October 2025:
- people aged 65 and over
- people with certain long term health conditions, from 6 months to under 65s
- care home residents
- carers in receipt of carer's allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
- close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- frontline health and social care workers
The children's nasal spray flu vaccine is given to children aged 2 or 3 on 31 August 2025 and children aged 2 to 17 with certain long-term health conditions.
If your child is in either primary or secondary school, please visit our dedicated webpage with information on how they can get vaccinated.
Babies and children aged 6 months to 2 years with certain health conditions will be offered a flu vaccine injection instead of the nasal spray.
Are you pregnant?
Katie Philpott is a matron on a local maternity ward. She describes how the flu vaccine can protect you and baby from serious illness.
