Seasonal flu vaccines ready
Pharmacies are now stocked with ordinary flu vaccines - getting one now could also help in the fight against swine flu
VACCINES against ordinary seasonal flu are out in the pharmacies today - two weeks earlier than usual.
The government is recommending people at risk should get vaccinated as soon as possible.
The urgency is partly to make sure that when the vaccines for swine flu come out people who need to have both can do so - it is necessary to wait three weeks after having a seasonal flu vaccine before the swine flu one.
The swine flu vaccine is expected to be available in the middle of October – however should people wait until then to get a seasonal flu vaccine they would not be able to have the swine flu one until early November, a time of year when there is usually a steep increase in viruses.
Flu experts also say that if plenty of people get vaccinated against seasonal flu it will help to avoid more dangerous forms of swine flu emerging which could happen if that virus comes into contact with the ordinary flu one and they recombine to form a mutated version of swine flu.
Although swine flu has hogged the headlines, seasonal flu kills about 2,500 people a year.
Priority groups for jabs include people over 65, those with health issues such as lung, heart or kidney problems or diabetes, and nursing mothers. They get the cost of the vaccine reimbursed 100% and will be receiving letters inviting them to have them.
If you want to get the vaccine for yourself, it costs under €7 at the pharmacy, however if the vaccine was not prescribed by a doctor you are not reimbursed for the procedure (which costs just a few euros with a nurse).
Once picked up from the pharmacy the vaccine should be stored in the fridge until your appointment.
