Flu vaccination
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Flu vaccination
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Flu (influenza) is a serious illness that kills thousands of people and hospitalises thousands more in England each year. The flu vaccination is the best protection for you and those around you.
It is important to top up your protection every year, even if you have had a vaccine or been ill with flu or COVID-19 before, as immunity fades over time and these viruses change each year. It is safe to have your flu and COVID-19 vaccinations at the same time.
Those eligible for a flu vaccine include:
From 1 September 2025 to 31 March 2026
• pregnant women
• all children aged 2 or 3 years 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
Video: Community members in the Bristol area share their flu message
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From 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026
• those aged 65 years and over
• those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined by the Green Book, Influenza chapter 19)
• those 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
• close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
• frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or personal health budgets, such as personal assistants. In the first instance, please contact your employer.
• frontline health care workers, including both clinical and non-clinical staff who have contact with patients. In the first instance, please contact your employer.
Most adults will be invited to have their flu vaccine by their GP or local pharmacy. School-aged children will be offered their flu vaccinations at school. Children aged 2 and 3 will be invited by their GP.
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Video: Flu vaccine
This short video features Bristol’s Dr Dougal Darvill explaining some different ways to get a vaccination.