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Winter Covid-19 and flu vaccination campaign launches to protect the most vulnerable
The NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland (LLR) has launched the autumn and winter Covid-19, and flu vaccination programme.
All eligible people can now get vaccinated to protect themselves from becoming seriously unwell from the effects of the viruses particularly during the colder winter months when viruses spread at a faster rate. Health leaders in LLR are urging all local residents to get their free vaccinations if they meet the eligibility criteria in an effort to protect those that are most vulnerable.
The eligible cohorts for the flu vaccination this autumn / winter includes:
- Those aged 65 and over (including those who will be 65 by 31 March 2026)
- residents in care homes,
- immunosuppressed individuals aged 6 months and over,
- pregnant women,
- clinically vulnerable people,
- close contacts of people with weakened immune systems,
- Frontline health and social care workers can also get a flu vaccine through their employer.
The eligible cohorts for the Covid-19 vaccination this autumn / winter includes:
- Those that are aged 75 or over (including those who will be 75 by 31 January 2026),
- those that are aged 6 months to 74 years and have a weakened immune system because of a health condition or treatment,
- residents in care homes for older adults.
*For a comprehensive list of eligibility please visit our website: latest vaccination news – LLR ICB
Dr Virginia Ashman, Clinical lead for the immunisation programme in LLR said: “We want to ensure that local people have the protection they need ahead of winter as it’s a time when viruses can spread much faster. Both the Covid-19 and flu vaccines help protect those that need it most from becoming seriously unwell and requiring hospital treatment. Pneumonia and other serious illnesses can develop from flu and Covid-19 which could be particularly harmful for already vulnerable people. It’s important to remember that the immunity you have built up from previous vaccinations reduces over time and may not be as effective against new variants of both viruses.
“Getting vaccinated will provide the best possible protection against both viruses and is especially important to do before winter fully sets in, so that the vaccines are fully effective within your body. We really can’t stress enough vaccinations really do save lives.”
Pregnant women and children have been able to get the flu vaccine since 1 September 2025. Health leaders are also urging all pregnant women particularly those that are due to give birth this winter to protect their babies by having their Whooping Cough and Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines when eligible as both of these viruses can be particularly harmful to newborn babies. Having these vaccines during pregnancy gives your baby some protection when they are born.
Those that are eligible for either the flu or Covid-19 vaccine do not have to wait to receive an invitation from the NHS bookings team, or their GP practice to be able to book a vaccination appointment. Our local online vaccination hub provides full information about how to book an appointment or find a walk-in clinic across LLR, where people can attend with no appointment necessary. For a full list of all the ways to get vaccinated this autumn click here: www.leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/how-to-get-your-vaccine/
Anyone who believes they should be eligible for a vaccine can check with their GP practice or by clicking here. There must also be a gap of at least three months between Covid-19 vaccinations, the NHS App provides details of all your previous Covid-19 and flu vaccinations.
In LLR people can access their Covid-19 vaccines via their GP practice, community pharmacies or walk-in clinics. Pregnant women also have the option of getting vaccinated at the antenatal clinics at both the Leicester Royal Infirmary and the Leicester General Hospital.
Dr Ashman concludes: “Older people, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems are affected more by winter viruses and it’s why we’re encouraging them and all eligible people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. If you are unsure if you can get vaccinated visit our website or drop in to one of our mobile vaccination clinics and speak to our vaccination team.”
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Winter flu vaccine now available for children and pregnant women
The NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland (LLR) has launched this year’s free winter flu vaccination programme, to protect local people ahead of winter. Beginning with pregnant women and all children aged two to 16 years, this year’s flu vaccination offer has also expanded to include those that are aged six months to 18 years and are in clinical risk group.
It’s as easy as possible for all eligible people to now get vaccinated. Most school-aged children will receive their flu vaccinations at school, but younger children and those who miss their school session can also get the flu vaccine at a follow up school clinic, at their GP practice or at a community clinic.
Pregnant women can speak to their midwife about the flu jab at their scheduled maternity appointments, or by contacting their local GP practice or by visiting a community pharmacy. Pregnant women can also find out more about all the recommended vaccinations in pregnancy by listening to the new Leicester Maternity Matters podcast. You can listen to the ‘vaccinations offered in pregnancy’ episode by visiting: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3U8NpR3Ya0mvNsN9qr3qjS.
The LLR Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) has also produced a short video about the children’s nasal spray flu vaccine. The video features a local nurse administering the vaccine to young children and shows just how quick and easy the process is. It has been developed to help reassure parents and children that the nasal spray vaccine causes no pain and does not involve any needles. It is a safe, quick and easy process, even for very young children. One spray of the vaccine in each nostril is all that is required. You can view the video below or by visiting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtqeTwcyv5E&t=6s
Leicester pharmacies begin to roll out of free RSV vaccine
Some pharmacies in Leicester have been selected to begin offering the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine as part of a phased national roll out to increase take up of the vaccine to help save lives by reducing hospital admissions and severe illness from the preventable virus. The pharmacies have been chosen to support older people aged 75 – 79 in our communities to access the vaccine conveniently. Every year thousands of older adults and babies are hospitalised due to the virus which could be prevented.
Severe RSV is most common in older adults and in infants under 1 years old. Babies are particularly vulnerable to RSV lung infections as they have small airways. RSV infection in infants can cause a condition called bronchiolitis which is inflammation and blockage of the small air tubes in the lung. Infants with severe bronchiolitis may need intensive care and the infection can be fatal.
During pregnancy, the RSV vaccine boosts women’s immune systems to make antibodies which are then passed through the placenta to help protect the baby from RSV from birth onwards.
Vaccination reduces the risk of severe RSV lung infection by around 70% in the first six months of life. All pregnant women from 28 weeks pregnancy until delivery and older adults aged 75-79 are eligible for the RSV vaccine.
The RSV vaccine programme began in September 2024, as part of the initial offer it is available to all those individuals who turned 80 during the first year of the programme. If you have recently turned 80 you can still get a RSV vaccination until Sunday 31 August 2025.
To find a local pharmacy in Leicester, who are offering the RSV vaccine, and book an appointment, visit: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/vaccination-and-booking-services/find-a-pharmacy-where-you-can-get-a-free-rsv-vaccination.
GP practices and hospital antenatal vaccination clinics have been administering this vaccine since September 2024 to all eligible people, to find out where you can get vaccinated against RSV in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, visit: https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/vaccinations/latest-vaccination-news/.
Vaccine FAQs
Flu facts – Helping you choose whether to get a vaccine
We know that you want to know the facts before making a choice about having a flu vaccine. To help you, we have put together some flu facts below.
The injected vaccine for adults does not contain any live viruses. This means it cannot give you flu. Some people might get a slightly raised temperature and aching muscles for a couple of days after the injection, but this is because your immune system is excited and not a result of the vaccine giving you any infection.
The flu vaccine cannot give you a sore throat, runny nose or cough so if you develop these symptoms after your flu jab it is probably due to you simply catching a cold around the same time.
It is important that you get your vaccine as early as possible, as it can take up to 14 days for your immune system to respond and build up immunity.
Yes, you need a new flu vaccine each year to make sure you have the latest protection.
The viruses that cause the flu change and evolve every year, so you need to have a new vaccination that matches the new viruses.
While colds and flu share some similar symptoms (such as a blocked nose, sore throat, and high temperature), a bad case of flu is much worse that a cold.
Colds tend to cause more nasal problems than flu, while fever, tiredness and muscle aches are more likely and more severe with the flu. If you get complications caused by flu, you could become seriously ill. The risk of most serious illness is highest in children under 6 months, pregnant women, older people and those with underlying health conditions. These groups are at greater risk of complications from flu such as bronchitis or pneumonia.
When you have a cold, you usually begin to feel better after a couple of days. Many people with flu are bed bound for several days and it takes around a week to recover, although you can feel tired for much longer.
Just because you haven’t had the flu before, does not mean you are immune.
Having a flu vaccine isn’t just about keeping you safe and well. It’s about protecting those close to you who might be more vulnerable to the effects of the virus. Just because you haven’t had the flu before doesn’t mean you are immune and won’t get it this year.
For adults, each year of added age makes us slightly more vulnerable to serious complications from flu, so the vaccine becomes increasingly important.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the official UK regulator authorising licensed use of medicines and vaccines, has said these vaccines are safe and highly effective. The NHS has full confidence in their expert judgement and processes.
General vaccine FAQs
Vaccination is the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and our children against ill health. They prevent millions of deaths worldwide every year.
Since vaccines were introduced in the UK, diseases like smallpox, polio and tetanus that used to kill or disable millions of people are either gone or are now very rarely seen.
Other diseases like measles and diphtheria have reduced to a very low number of cases each year since vaccines were introduced.
However, if people stop having vaccines, it’s possible for infectious diseases to quickly spread again. In other countries these diseases are still common and so overseas travel can import disease back into the UK.
Vaccines teach your immune system how to create antibodies that protect you from diseases.
It’s much safer for your immune system to learn this through vaccination than by catching the diseases and treating them.
Once your immune system knows how to fight a disease, it can usually mount an immune response very quickly which means that you can control the infection without becoming seriously unwell. Sometimes, your immune system remembers the vaccine so well that it can even give you life long protection from the disease.
To help you understand how vaccinations and the immune system work together to protect you and your family from harmful illnesses, Dr Virginia Ashman, clinical lead for the immunisation programme in LLR, has produced a video to explain the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klqcqLo9JAY
All vaccines are thoroughly tested to make sure they will not harm you or your child.
It often takes many years for a vaccine to make it through the trials and tests it needs to pass for approval.
Once a vaccine is being used in the UK it’s also monitored for any rare side effects by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It is also carefully monitored to make sure it still works.
Most of the side effects of vaccination are mild and do not last long. In fact, if you feel a little unwell after your vaccine it suggests your immune system is responding really well to your vaccination.
The most common side effects of vaccination include:
- the area where the needle goes in looking red, swollen and feeling a bit sore for 2 to 3 days
- feeling a bit unwell or developing a high temperature for 1 or 2 days
- older children and adults may feel faint
- feeling tired, having a headache, fever, or muscle aches and pains
Some children might also cry and be upset immediately after the injection. This is normal and they should feel better after a cuddle. Common side effects usually pass after a few days.
Most vaccines contain a small amount of bacteria, virus or toxin that’s been weakened or destroyed in a laboratory first.
Some contain just tiny fragments of the germ that make your body think it’s coming into contact with the bacteria, virus or toxin.
Some vaccines contain the genetic coding for a tiny fragment of the virus so that your cells can create their own copy and your immune system can familiarise itself up close.
This means there’s a very low risk of healthy people catching a disease from a vaccine. It’s also why you might see vaccines being called “live” or “non-live”.
Live (weakened) vaccines | Non-live (destroyed) vaccines |
Contain viruses or bacteria that have been weakened | Contain viruses or bacteria that have been destroyed |
Cannot be given to people with a weakened immune system | Can still be given to people with a weakened immune system |
Scientists are constantly monitoring to see which infectious diseases pose the greatest threat to us here in the UK. If a disease becomes a significant threat, then they will try to create a vaccine to prevent that disease (e.g., the Covid vaccine was developed during the pandemic in 2020). Scientists are not always successful at creating vaccines (e.g., there is still no vaccine against either Hepatitis C or HIV infection) and some vaccines wear off (wane) too quickly to be worthwhile. There are currently around 20 different diseases that we can protect ourselves against here in the UK; these are called vaccine preventable diseases.
Each vaccine is designed to protect against a specific infection, and, for each infection, we find that a different age group is at most risk; some vaccines are therefore given at the right time of life to protect people when they are most vulnerable.
Other vaccines work best at a certain age so we sometimes delay giving them until we know the immune system will be able to mount a strong response to the vaccine.
Some vaccines are designed to protect us against short-term seasonal threats; the flu vaccine is the best example of this where we must have a vaccine each year before the flu season starts and that vaccine is updated each year to try to protect against the strains of virus predicted to be circulating.
Sometimes vaccine immunity wanes (wears off) with time. This isn’t always a problem as sometimes we have grown older and are no longer at such high risk from the disease (e.g., Whooping cough vaccine is not necessary for adults but is essential for tiny babies and children). Other vaccines create immunity that usually lasts forever. An example of this effect is the MMR vaccine which gives lifelong protection against Measles but waning protection against Mumps – this is why it is still possible to catch Mumps as an adolescent despite having had the vaccine as a child; this doesn’t mean the entire vaccine has worn off and the Measles component is usually still working extremely well into older age.
In the UK we have a Vaccination Schedule which outlines which vaccines we should receive, at what time, for the best protection when we are most vulnerable.
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