This post aims to be a place for all COVID-19 information to ensure you're ready for the winter season.

COVID Eligibility

From 3 October 2024:

• Adults aged 65 years and over
• Residents in a care home for older adults
• persons aged 6 months to 64 years in a clinical risk group

The COVID vaccination is no longer offered to; 

• Frontline health and social care workers
• Staff working in care homes
• unpaid carers
• household contacts of people with immunosuppression

COVID Clinics

Alliance for Better Care (ABC) will be undertaking the COVID vaccination programme. They will be working to offer our patients the vaccine through our site! So you'll be able to receive your vaccine at Park Surgery. Hopefully, this helps those who might have found it harder to travel to a site further away. 

ABC will be holding clinics starting on Saturday 12th October. These will be staffed by them and invitations will be from them based from a list of eligible patients provided by Park surgery. These invitation will be via a self-book link for those able. Park surgery will be able to book you in, should you be unable to book using the link, however, we ask you contact us after 3pm. 

If you would like a COVID & Flu vaccination then you should book into the ABC clinics (unless you would like these on separate days). If you are invited for a COVID vaccination and would not like one, you should book into a Flu clinic through Park surgery. 

Housebound & Care home patients

ABC will be contacting housebound patients to arrange a suitable time to attend to give the vaccination. They will also be providing the COVID & Flu vaccination to all care home residents eligible. 

This post aims to be a place for all RSV information to ensure you're ready for the winter season. 

RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) is one of the common viruses that cause coughs and colds during the winter months. In most people in causes a mild respiratory illness, perfectly manageable. However, a small number of young children and some older adults can develop a more severe respiratory disease and require hospitalisation. In the worst cases it might cause pneumonia and even be fatal. 

Please visit the NHS website on RSV or this FAQ for more information. 

Therefore, the JCVI has recommended a vaccination programme against the virus, the first of which starts this year in September. 

The RSV vaccination is currently a single dose vaccination with no boosters - you will not need an RSV vaccine every year.

RSV eligibilty 

There are two cohorts that are targetted and eligible for this vaccination. 

Pregnant women to protect infants

All registered patients are eligible from 28 weeks of pregnancy and will remain eligible until birth. However, it is recommended to have had the vaccination by week 36. 

Older adults

Registered patients aged between 75 and 80 will be eligible for the vaccination. 

There will be a 'catch-up' programme for the following groups to ensure they are vaccinated before they are no longer eligible (Over 80's are not eligible as the vaccine is less effective). 

• Older adults aged 79 from 31st August 2024 & those turning 80 before 31st August 2025.
• Older adults aged between 75 and 78. These adults will not be eligible when they turn 80.

And a routine programme for adults who turn 75. 

RSV Clinics

Although the vaccination will be available throughout the year, the practice will endeavour to vaccinate a significant proportion of the 'catch-up' cohorts in September & October prior to the usual RSV season. 

These clinics will be held during the week and invitations with self-booking links will be sent to those able within the next few weeks. 

PLEASE NOTE: Pregnant women are able to have the flu vaccination at the same time as the RSV. However, Older adults are advised not to have the flu and RSV vaccine on the same day.

This post aims to be a place for all flu information to ensure you're ready for the winter season. 

Flu Eligibility

Firstly, the flu vaccination programme has been split into two cohorts with different vaccination dates; 

From 1 September 2024:

• pregnant women
• all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2024
• 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

From 3 October 2024: 

• those aged 65 years and over
• those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups 
• 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 

More information on the flu vaccine is available on the 'Flu vaccine' NHS website

Please note slight changes from previous years.

With these changes the NHS aims to provide better protection against influenza for longer into the season. The cohort being vaccinated in September are not expected to lose protection as quick as the October cohort. 

Flu Clinics

With the above in mind, we will be holding clinics in September for Children & Pregnant women (note; school aged children willhave their flu provided by their school programme). 

The majority of this cohort will be invited in the coming weeks to attend mid-week clinics with self-booking links for patients to choose their own appointment given to those able to. 

We will also be holding clinics in October. These will be on Saturday starting from the 5th October. Invitations will be sent as above in the next few weeks. If you would like a COVID vaccine as well, please read the COVID post on this page - we will be holding clinics at Park surgery but hosted by Alliance for Better Care (ABC). 

Please bear in mind, it is extremely helpful to General Practice if you get your flu vaccine from us.