Flu & Covid Vaccinations – 2024 Final Push

Over the next two weeks, we will be working with partners in NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to do a final push to encourage eligible people to book their vaccines before the NHS booking system closes on 19 December.

We would really appreciate your support with amplifying our messages with your networks.

Here are some key messages:

• Anyone still eligible for the flu, COVID-19 or RSV**vaccines should get booked in ahead of the busy winter holiday period, when we expect flu, and other respiratory viruses to spread between people more easily as we spend more time indoors.
• Vaccination offers the best defence against these diseases, and now is the time to get protected before Christmas.
• It’s vital that those eligible for their flu and COVID-19 vaccines who have still not been vaccinated come forward as soon as possible before the NHS booking system closes on 19 December*:
• It takes about two weeks following vaccination to build up the maximum defences against the viruses, so it’s important to book in as soon as you can – not just to protect yourselves, but to protect your families and friends too.
• It is crucial to get this protection, even if you have had a vaccine or been ill with flu or COVID before, as immunity fades over time and the viruses change each year.

*20 December is the last day that people can attend appointments for their flu and COVID-19 vaccination booked through the National Booking Service (NBS), with 19 December being the last day to book. After this date, it will still be possible for those eligible to get their vaccinations through local NHS vaccination services, however people may need to travel further.

**Vaccination against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is being offered for the first time this year to anyone who is 28 or more weeks pregnant, along with people aged 75-79 years. This is a year-round offer.

Here are some useful links to help you raise awareness of the vaccine offer:

• UKHSA and NHS England’s joint stakeholder communications toolkit containing social media assets and copy, key messages, health publications and other useful information in a central resources. At the same link, empty belly co branded assets are available to download to use on your own channels.
• UKHSA press release from yesterday (5 December) ‘flu vaccine deadline looms as hospital admissions double’
• UKHSA’s COVID-19, influenza (flu), RSV and norovirus surveillance bulletin (formally Weekly Winter Briefing) brings together the latest surveillance data, along with the latest public health advice for COVID-19, flu, RSV and norovirus. Yesterday’s report (week 48) showed that flu activity increased across most indicators including increases in hospitalisation rates.
• Joint UKHSA and British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) press release (6 December) ‘Muslim leaders and UKHSA urge communities to get winter vaccines’
• NHS England’s latest press release (5 December) ‘hospitals managing record flu levels going into winter’