Flu and covid Booster Q&A 2021

Flu and Covid-19 booster jabs are now available.

Alongside the annual flu campaign, this year, any member of EEAST staff or registered volunteer will also be eligible to have a Covid-19 booster jab together with their flu jab.

If you had your second covid-19 vaccine more than 6 months ago, you will be eligible for both jabs.  

All members of EEAST can book their Covid-19 booster jab via the National Booking Service here. 

For the National Booking Service, you will need to self-declare as a HCSW at the time of booking.

On attendance of your appointment, you will need your Trust ID confirming your role within the Trust. If you are a non-clincal member of staff, we will provide you with the Trust's letter of support detailing your eligibility for the Covid-19 booster jab. This letter, alongside your Trust ID, will need to be shown when you attend your appointment. You can download this letter here.

You can view our flu clinic list here. All staff will be able to receive a flu jab at any of our vaccination clinics. You do not need to book for a flu jab.

Important – tell us you’ve had your jab

We need to record every vaccination, whether this was done at EEAST or externally. For both Flu and/or Covid booster, please remind your team to complete the survey here. It will only take a few minutes to complete.

 If you have any further questions or concerns, please email Covid.booking@eastamb.nhs.uk

 

• How do I book?
• Where can I get the vaccines? If I had my vaccines first and second Covid-19 vaccine elsewhere, such as in a hospital, can I get the third vaccine at EEAST?
• What is a booster jab?
• Is it safe to have the flu and Covid-19 jab at the same time?
• What if I have tested positive for covid/ have symptoms?
• I have had Covid-19 recently, do I need to wait to get the vaccine. 
• It hasn’t been six months since my last vaccine, what do I do?
• I had the Pfizer vaccine last time – can I get another one now? Is that safe?
• I had the Astra Zeneca vaccine last time, is it safe to have a different booster vaccine?
• Pfizer has a new name, why?
• I am allergic to Pfizer, will you be offering any other type of vaccine?
• I’m pregnant, should I have both vaccines?
• What will the side effects be?
• Do I need to wait fifteen minutes after having the Covid-19 booster jab?
• I don’t want the flu jab, can I just get my Covid Vaccine booster?
• Can the flu vaccine cause flu?
• If I had the flu vaccine last year, do I need it again now?
• Will the flu vaccine it affect COVID antibodies? Can the flu vaccine increase the chances of respiratory complications due to COVID?
• How effective is the flu vaccine?
• How long will the flu vaccine protect me for?
• How safe is the flu vaccine?

 

 

 

How do I book?

Clinics for the vaccines will be available in several ways:

• Flu clinics will be running throughout the next 2 months ending 30^th of November and will be accessible as walk-in appointments arranged by the locality leads. Dates and locations of these clinics will be made available as soon as possible and all staff are encouraged to attend and get the Flu vaccine as soon as possible.
• For the Covid booster, you are encouraged to utilise the National Booking Service (NBS) via Book or manage your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk) or calling 119 to find a clinic location and time to suit you.

You will need to self-declare as a HCSW at the time of booking.

On attendance of your appointment, you will need your Trust ID confirming your role within the Trust. If you are a non-clincal member of staff, we will provide you with the Trust's letter of support detailing your eligibility for the Covid-19 booster jab. This letter, alongside your Trust ID will need to be shown when you attend your appointment. Please speak to your manager to receive a copy of this letter. 

• In-house Covid-19 booster jab clinics are available to book via Evolve until the 4th November. 

Flu vaccines can be accessed at any time but for the Covid booster, you will need to ensure it has been 6 months since your second Covid jab or you will not receive the booster.

All over 50’s are eligible for the Covid booster vaccine as part of the JCVI Guidance and will be invited to attend a clinic as part of the national booking program. All non-HSCW that are over 50 can access either in-house or external sites for their vaccines.

 

Where can I get the vaccines? If I had my vaccines first and second Covid-19 vaccine elsewhere, such as in a hospital, can I get the third vaccine at EEAST?

Access to the booster jab will primarily be via external sites as well as internally with EEAST. Access externally for the frontline HSCW’s may well be preferable as geographically there may be more clinic availability for you to choose from.

EEAST will be running clinics at 8 main hubs throughout the region for those non-HSCWs within EEAST to access. These will be located at Longwater, Newmarket, Weeley, Chelmsford, Stevenage, Kempston, Peterborough and Cambridge.  Numbers of clinics are lower this time due to the logistics of the vaccine being provided.

 

What is a booster jab?

The booster jab in EEAST will the Comirnaty (Pfizer) mRNA vaccine.

You do not need to have had Pfizer for your first vaccine to receive the booster. The mRNA vaccine has been recommended for the booster program regardless of which vaccine you had first time; but you can choose. Astra Zeneca or Moderna is available through the National booking service.

Is it safe to have the flu and Covid-19 jab at the same time?

Having both jabs together has been tested thoroughly and is recommended by JVCI and PHE to have both vaccines together. You may be able to have both vaccines on the same day (subject to supply flow) but it is envisaged that the majority of staff will receive both at separate times. There is no time limit between when you can have one followed by the other.

What if I have tested positive for covid/ have symptoms?

If you are symptomatic or have tested positive you should follow isolation guidance until symptom free and have a negative PCR test. Once clear, you should leave 28 days from the date of the positive test before getting the booster vaccine. Do not attend a clinic if symptomatic or immediately following a positive test.

I have had Covid-19 recently, do I need to wait to get the vaccine. 

You need to wait for 28 days from the date of the positive test before having the booster vaccine.

It hasn’t been six months since my last vaccine, what do I do?

You can have the flu jab as soon as possible but must wait until 6 months from the date of your second Covid jab for the booster jab. The jabs can be done in separate clinics or at the same time.

I had the Pfizer vaccine last time – can I get another one now? Is that safe?

If you had your second Covid-19 vaccine more than 6 months ago, you will be eligible for the Covid-19 booster jab. It doesn’t matter which type of vaccine you have had previously. If you would like an alternative, such as Moderna or Astra Zeneca, you can contact your GP or Local vaccine centre.

I had the Astra Zeneca vaccine last time, is it safe to have a different booster vaccine?

Yes. The Comirnaty (Pfzier) vaccine has been recommended for the booster program regardless of which vaccine you had previously; however AZ and Moderna are available through the National booking service if you choose to have those.

Pfizer has a new name, why?

This was due to the licencing change to make the vaccine more accessible and so is being distributed under a new name, Comirnaty. The contents are exactly the same.

I am allergic to Pfizer, will you be offering any other type of vaccine?

We won’t be offering another vaccine at this time within EEAST. If you need an alternative, such as Moderna or Astra Zeneca, you can contact your GP or Local vaccine centre or book trough the NBS.

I’m pregnant, should I have both vaccines?

There is lots of guidance provided for those that are pregnant to make an informed choice but the overarching message is that it is safe and even if pregnant you are encouraged to get the vaccines.

What will the side effects be?

You will have each jab in separate arms so like most vaccines, your arms may feel sore.

 

The usual side effects may arise such as headache, lethargy and nausea however these are rare and should pass relatively quickly if they do arise. Normal analgesia such as Paracetamol and Ibuprofen can be taken.

Do I need to wait fifteen minutes after having the Covid-19 booster jab?

Yes. After receiving the Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccine you will be required to wait 15 minutes to safeguard against any potential allergic reactions.

 
I don’t want the flu jab, can I just get my Covid Vaccine booster?

Although we, and NHS health officials, recommend that having the two jabs together is the best way of staying healthy over winter having just one vaccine is available.

Can the flu vaccine cause flu?

No. The injected vaccine does not contain any live viruses, so it cannot cause flu. You may get a slight temperature and aching muscles for a couple of days afterwards, and your arm may feel a bit sore where you had the injection. Other reactions are rare, and flu vaccines have a good safety record.

If I had the flu vaccine last year, do I need it again now?

Yes. The viruses that cause flu can change every year, which means the flu (and the vaccine) this year may be different from last year.

 

Each year new strains of flu circulate; the vaccine itself changes to suit the current.  This year we have a quadrivalent vaccine, protecting you, family, friends and patients against four known flu viruses.

Will the flu vaccine it affect COVID antibodies? Can the flu vaccine increase the chances of respiratory complications due to COVID?

There is not enough evidence to tell us yet.  It is unlikely that either of these things will happen however; there are no obvious links to concern.

How effective is the flu vaccine?

A flu vaccine is the best protection we have against an unpredictable virus that can cause unpleasant illness in children and severe illness and death among at-risk groups, including older people, pregnant women and those with an underlying medical health condition.

Studies have shown that the flu vaccine will help prevent you getting the flu. It won't stop all flu viruses and the level of protection may vary, so it's not a 100% guarantee that you'll be flu-free, but if you do get flu after the vaccination it's likely to be milder and shorter-lived than it would otherwise have been.

There is also evidence to suggest that the flu vaccine can reduce your risk of having a stroke.

Over time, protection from the injected flu vaccine gradually decreases and flu strains often change. So new flu vaccines are produced each year, which is why people advised to have the flu vaccine need it every year too.

How long will the flu vaccine protect me for?

The flu vaccine will provide protection for you for the upcoming flu season. People eligible for flu vaccination should have the vaccine each year. There are several types of flu vaccine. Those eligible will be offered the one that is most effective for them, depending upon their age.

 

Health and social care workers should be offered a quadrivalent influenza vaccine grown either in eggs or cells (QIVe or QIVc) – both of which are considered to be equally suitable.

 

For the small number of healthcare workers aged 65 and over, if their employer cannot offer QIVc they should ask their GP or pharmacy for an adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aTIV). This is preferable to the non-adjuvanted egg-based flu vaccine, particularly if they are in an at-risk group.

 

How safe is the flu vaccine?

The flu vaccines used in the national programme have a good safety record. Flu vaccines that have been licensed recently in England have been thoroughly tested before they’re made available and have been used in other countries with a good safety record.

The only risk is an allergic reaction.  And the risk of having a serious anaphylactic reaction to the jab is less than one in a million. That’s lower than getting seriously ill from having the flu itself.

If you have had a serious allergic reaction to a flu vaccine, or hen’s eggs/feathers before, you should always talk to your GP.