Immunisations and Vaccinations

On the advice of Welsh Government covid vaccination clinics will not commence until 1 October 2024 and administered at the same time as the flu vaccination.  Appointments will be sent directly from the Health Board but the clinics are ran by The Marches in our buildings.  If you wish to decline the flu vaccination and just have the covid 19 vaccination please still attend your appointment.

You are eligible for a flu vaccination if:

• You are 65 or older or will be 65 before 31 March 2025
• You have a chronic respiratory disease including asthma, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung fibrosis.  Please note if you have asthma and you are well controlled without the need of steroid inhalers (a preventer inhaler) , you may not be eligible for a vaccination
• Chronic heart disease and vascular disease including congenital heart disease, hypertension with cardiac complications, chronic heart failure, you require regular medication and/or follow up for ischaemic heart disease.  This includes atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease or a history of venous thromboembolism
• Chronic Kidney disease at stage 3,4 or 5, chronic kidney failure, nephrotic syndrome and kidney transplantation
• Chronic neurological disease including stroke, TIA (transient ischaemic attack, cerebral palsy, severe or profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) including all those on the learning disabilities register, Down's syndrome, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease and related or similar conditions; or hereditary and degenerative disease of the nervous system or muscles, or severe neurological disability
• Diabetes mellitus and other endocrine disorders including diet controlled diabetes, current gestational diabetes and Addison's disease
• Immunosuppression due to disease or treatment including patient undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression, undergoing radical radiotherapy, solid organ transplant patients, bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients, HIV infection of all stages, multiple myeloma or genetic disorders affecting the immune system.  Individuals receiving immunosuppressive therapy.  Individuals treated with systemic steroids at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20mg or more per day.  Anyone with a history of leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.  Anyone who requires long term immunosuppressive treatment for conditions including, but not limited to, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, scleroderma and psoriasis
• Asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen including homozygous sickle cell disease, thalassemia major and coeliac syndrome
• Morbid obesity with a BMI equal to or great than 40
• Severe mental illness including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or any mental illness that causes severe functional impairment
• Pregnancy all stages (first, second and third trimesters)

Who should have the children's flu vaccine

The children's flu vaccine is offered on the NHS every year in autumn or early winter.

It's recommended for:

• children aged 2 or 3 years - immunised by The Marches
• school-aged children (Reception to Year 11) - immunised in school
• children aged 6 months to 17 years with certain long-term health conditions 

1. conditions that affect their breathing, such as asthma (needing a steroid inhaler or tablets) or cystic fibrosis
2. had a lung or airways infection in the past that meant they needed to stay overnight in hospital
3. serious heart conditions
4. kidney or liver disease
5. some conditions that affect their brain or nerves, such as cerebral palsy
6. diabetes
7. a weakened immune system due to a condition or treatment, such as chemotherapy or steroid medicine
8. problems with their spleen, such as sickle cell disease, or if they've had their spleen removed
9. a learning disability

On the advice of Welsh Government flu vaccination clinics will not commence until 1 October 2024 and administered at the same time as the covid 19 vaccination.  Appointments will be sent directly from the Health Board but the clinics are ran by The Marches in our buildings.  If you do not wish to have the Covid 19 vaccination but do wish to have the flu vaccination please still attend the appointment.

You are eligible for a flu vaccination if:

• You are 65 or older or will be 65 before 31 March 2025
• You have a chronic respiratory disease including asthma, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung fibrosis.  Please note if you have asthma and you are well controlled without the need of steroid inhalers (a preventer inhaler) , you may not be eligible for a vaccination
• Chronic heart disease and vascular disease including congenital heart disease, hypertension with cardiac complications, chronic heart failure, you require regular medication and/or follow up for ischaemic heart disease.  This includes atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease or a history of venous thromboembolism
• Chronic Kidney disease at stage 3,4 or 5, chronic kidney failure, nephrotic syndrome and kidney transplantation
• Chronic neurological disease including stroke, TIA (transient ischaemic attack, cerebral palsy, severe or profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) including all those on the learning disabilities register, Down's syndrome, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease and related or similar conditions; or hereditary and degenerative disease of the nervous system or muscles, or severe neurological disability
• Diabetes mellitus and other endocrine disorders including diet controlled diabetes, current gestational diabetes and Addison's disease
• Immunosuppression due to disease or treatment including patients undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression, undergoing radical radiotherapy, solid organ transplant patients, bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients, HIV infection of all stages, multiple myeloma or genetic disorders affecting the immune system.  Individuals receiving immunosuppressive therapy.  Individuals treated with systemic steroids at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20mg or more per day.  Anyone with a history of leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.  Anyone who requires long term immunosuppressive treatment for conditions including, but not limited to, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, scleroderma and psoriasis
• Asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen including homozygous sickle cell disease, thalassemia major and coeliac syndrome
• Morbid obesity with a BMI equal to or great than 40
• Sever mental illness including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or any mental illness that causes severe functional impairment
• Pregnancy all stages (first, second and third trimesters)

You are eligible for a pneumonia vaccination if:

You are 65 or over 

You are aged 2 - 64 in one of the clinical risk groups below

• Asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen including conditions that may lead to splenic dysfunction such as coeliac syndrome
• Chronic respiratory disease including COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung fibrosis.  Children with respiratory conditions caused by aspiration or a neurological disease such as cerebral palsy.  Asthma is not an indication, unless so severe to require continuous or frequently repeated use of systemic steroids ( as defined in immunosuppression below)
• Chronic heart disease including those requiring regular medication  and/or follow up for ischaemic heart disease, congenital heart disease, hypertension with cardiac complication and chronic heart failure
• Chronic kidney disease stages 4 and 5, nephrotic syndrome and those on kidney dialysis or with kidney transplantation
• Chronic liver disease including cirrhosis, biliary atresia and chronic hepatitis
• Diabetes requiring insulin or anti-diabetic medication.  It does not include diabetes that is diet controlled
• Immunosuppression due to disease or treatment, including patients undergoing chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, HIV infection of all stages, multiple myeloma or genetic disorders that affect the immune system.  Individuals on systemic steroids for more than a month at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20mg or more per day (any age) or for children under 20kg, a dose of 1mg or more per kg per day
• Individuals with cochlear implants .  Ideally the vaccination should be given before the intervention or as soon as possible after
• Individuals with cerebrospinal fluid leaks such as following trauma or major skull surgery

RSV can cause pneumonia which can be very serious.  Further information regarding RSV can be found here.

You are eligible for an RSV vaccination if you turn 75 years of age on or after 1 September 2024 or if you are already between the ages of 75 to 79 on 1 September 2024.  

You can make an appointment to have the vaccination in either our Buckley or Broughton surgery.  

Pregnant patients are also eligible and can have the vaccination form 1 September 2024 as long as you are 28 weeks pregnant or more.  You will not be having your vaccination in the surgery, Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board staff will be administering it and you will be invited by them.

Week 28

Ideally, the RSV vaccine should be given in week 28 of pregnancy or soon after so that there is sufficient time for the mother to make high levels of antibodies and for these to transfer across the placenta to provide passive immunity to the unborn child to give them the best protection during early infancy.  Giving the vaccine around week 28 also increases the potential for babies who are born prematurely to benefit.

After week 28

For those women who have not been vaccinated in or shortly after week 28 of pregnancy, the vaccine should continue to be offered until delivery.  Immunisation after week 36 of pregnancy may not offer as high a level of passive protection to the baby as there may be insufficient time for the mother to make a good response and have antibodies to pass across the placenta.

There is some evidence that good transplacental antibody transfer can take place within 2 weeks of vaccination so even doses given later in pregnancy may offer some protection to the infant.