The Health and Social Care Portfolio will be delivering a selective influenza vaccination campaign this November to protect our community ahead of the peak flu season in December and January.
About influenza
Influenza, more commonly known as the ‘flu’, is a viral infection of the windpipe and lungs. It causes seasonal outbreaks almost every winter in the UK. Increased travel between the UK and St Helena during our summer months puts our community at risk.
Flu is not the same as a common cold, and it can be very serious. Anyone can catch it, but for some people it may likely lead to severe illness. Flu has contributed to a certain number of deaths each year. It is caused by viruses, and not bacteria, so antibiotics won’t treat it. The best form of protection is vaccination.
Who will be offered a vaccine
The flu vaccination programme will target people at highest risk, but over half of the population of St Helena will be eligible for the free vaccine. Eligible groups include:
- All people aged 65 years or more
- All children aged 2 to 16 years
- All adults and children over 6 months with underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart, lung or kidney disease
- Pregnant women
- People in long-stay residential facilities
To offer further protection to those at-risk, the vaccine is also offered to carers of elderly or disabled people, household contacts of people with weakened immune systems, and all frontline health and social care workers.
Where and when will the vaccine be available
There will be drop-in vaccination clinics operating across the island throughout November. There will also be opportunities to receive the vaccine during routine community health clinics.
The dates, times and locations of the vaccination clinics will be published in due course. In the meantime, all eligible people are invited to register their interest by calling the Health Promotion team on Tel: 25949 or by emailing healthpromotion@sainthelena.gov.sh.
Online registration is also available by scanning the QR code below or by directly accessing the form at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/shflu
For more information, please click the link to our Influenza Vaccination FAQ sheet.
QR Code
#StHelena #FluVaccination #AltogetherHealthier