Almost 500,000 Northants residents eligible for flu vaccine to help combat Covid risks

Year 7 students and those aged between 50 and 64 are now eligible for the vaccine
Those aged over 50 are now eligible.Those aged over 50 are now eligible.
Those aged over 50 are now eligible.

More than half of the Northants population is eligible for the flu vaccine this winter amid evidence that contracting both the virus and Covid-19 at the same time more than doubles the risk of death.

The director of public health Lucy Wightman said today (Oct 1) that following an increase in the type of people who can be vaccinated, there are now 489,000 people eligible for the vaccine in Northants, an increase of 176,000. For the first time this winter Year 7 pupils are eligible for the vaccine as well as people in the 50-64 age bracket and household members of people on the previous shielded list.

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The government has widened the eligibility bracket after Public Health England research carried out between January and April this year showed that people who had both covid and flu had more than double the chance of dying. Those co-infected were also more at risk of serious illness.

A covid vaccine is not available as yet.

Speaking at the Covid-19 oversight meeting this morning Lucy Wightman said: “At the moment there are some concerns about the availability of the flu vaccine and therefore what we have done is make sure we have got a priority list locally so we can prioritise those in order of the level of risk, should they contract the flu.”

She said currently the vaccine availability in Northants was not a challenge and that different agencies such as GP surgeries, school nurses and pharmacies were working together to deliver the programme and were all aware of the additional people they needed to vaccinate.

Drive-thru vaccination clinics are also being considered by some surgeries and military planners who had been supporting health and local government bosses during covid had also helped planned mass vaccination programmes either indoors or outside.

She said communications had now started to make eligible residents aware.