The flu is a virus that spreads every winter. Flu strains change each year. Getting the flu vaccine is the best way to protect yourself against flu.
The best time to get the flu vaccine is before the flu season starts. The vaccine is available from October each year.
We offer a free flu vaccine to people at higher risk from flu.
There are different types of flu vaccine depending on your age.
Older people and flu vaccine
People age 60 and older are at higher risk of serious illness from flu.
Flu vaccine for people age 60 and older
Children and flu vaccine
All children age between 2 and 17 can get the flu vaccine as a nasal spray.
Pregnancy and flu vaccine
The flu vaccine is safe in pregnancy.
The flu vaccine can prevent you from getting flu and passing flu to your baby.
How the flu vaccine works
The flu vaccine helps your immune system produce antibodies to fight infection. Having the vaccine can stop you getting sick if you come in contact with the flu virus.
The vaccine starts to work after about 2 weeks.
Protection from the flu
The flu vaccine gives you the best available protection from the flu.
You can still get the flu after vaccination. But you should have milder symptoms and recover faster.
You need to get the flu vaccine every year because:
- flu strains change each year
- the antibodies that protect you fade over time
Flu vaccine and other vaccines
It is safe to get the flu vaccine if you had other vaccines recently.
For example, if you had:
Children age 6 months to 4 years should wait 14 days between the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine.
Children age 12 to 23 months who are medically at risk
Wait at least 1 week between the flu vaccine and the pneumococcal vaccine. This reduces the risk of problems from a fever.
Protect yourself from flu
You can still get the flu after you get the flu vaccine.
To reduce the risk of getting or spreading viral infections:
- wash your hands properly and often
- cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve when you cough or sneeze
- put used tissues into a bin