Free NHS vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and your family this winter. They help keep you healthy and reduce your chances of becoming seriously ill or needing hospital care.

Last winter, there were more than 300,000 hospital bed days taken up by patients with flu – almost double the previous winter (175,062 in 2023-24) and close to 50% higher than the year before (216,120 in 2022-23). The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found that the flu vaccine is estimated to have prevented around 96,000 to 120,200 people from being hospitalised in England last winter in 2024-25. The free NHS flu vaccine is available to people most at risk from flu and their carers. Flu viruses change each year, so you need to get vaccinated every year if you can. People that can get the free NHS flu vaccine:

• people aged 65 or over
• anyone 6 months to 64 years old with certain long-term health conditions
• pregnant women
• children aged 2 to 3 years old
• residents in long-stay residential care homes
• carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance, or those who are the main carer of an
• elderly or disabled person
• anyone living with someone who has a weakened immune system
  
  

How to book: Use the NHS App, visit nhs.uk/bookflu, call 119, or contact your GP practice or pharmacy. Find pharmacies for walk in appointments at nhs.uk/flu-pharmacy.