COLUMN: GP Matters

Vaccinations and preventing ill health are among our main areas of focus as we head towards the cold and dark months of winter.

Our annual flu vaccination campaign is now underway. Vaccinations for pregnant women started on September 1.

The main flu vaccination campaign will kick off on Thursday, October 3 and vaccination for COVID-19 will also start on this date.

COVID-19 vaccinations for autumn 2024 will be offered to the following groups:

• residents in a care home for older adults
• all adults aged 65 years and over
• patients aged six months to 64 years in a clinical risk group
• frontline health and social care workers and staff working in care homes for older adults

Vaccinations for most adults have moved to the beginning of October this year so individuals are vaccinated closer to the time when the flu virus is likely to circulate.

Patients due to have treatment that will weaken their immune system (such as chemotherapy) will be offered the vaccine before treatment starts, because it works better if given when their immune system is stronger.

Protection provided by the vaccine lasts much longer in children, therefore the priority is to start vaccinating children earlier and reduce transmission to the wider population.

Local surgeries have already started inviting eligible children (primarily those aged two or three years on August 31, 2024) for their vaccination. Primary school aged children (from reception to year six) and secondary school aged children (from year seven to year 11) will be offered vaccination at school.

The October vaccination clinics for other patient groups are in the final stages of organisation and we will start inviting eligible patients shortly.

In Leighton Buzzard, the community midwifery hub at Grovebury Road is now offering walk-in vaccination clinics for pregnant women on Fridays from 8.30am-noon. The clinic offers whooping cough vaccinations all year, flu between September and March and COVID vaccinations in the autumn.

This service is run by the community midwives and not by Leighton Road Surgery.

Prevention is always better than cure. If you are offered a vaccination by our team or healthcare partners, do please attend the appointment or clinic offered.