At-Risk Groups

As per national guidelines, Dr. Byrne strongly recommends that people in at-risk groups should get the flu vaccine:

• People aged 65 years and over

• Pregnant women

• People (adults and children) with long-term medical conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver, kidney disease, cancer, chronic lung disease including COPD, asthma or neurological diseases

• People whose immune system is impaired due to disease or treatment including cancer patients

• People who are obese who have a body mass index (BMI) of over 40

• People with Down syndrome

• Residents of nursing homes and other long-stay institutions

• Healthcare workers

• Carers and household contacts of people at medical risk of the complications of flu

• People with regular close contact with poultry, water fowl or pigs

​

You should not get the flu vaccine if you have had a severe allergic (anaphylaxis) reaction to a previous dose or any part of the vaccine. Don’t get the flu vaccine if you are taking medicines called combination checkpoint inhibitors (e.g. ipilimumab plus nivolumab).
Vaccination should be re-scheduled if you have an acute illness with a temperature greater than 38°C.
 

​

For information on the children's flu vaccine, see Childhood Immunisations.

​

Useful Links on Flu Vaccines

• What is flu?

• Flu vaccine for children

• Flu vaccine during pregnancy

• Flu vaccine for healthcare workers

• Under the weather: Flu

​

​

Pneumonia (Pneumococcal) Vaccine

Pneumococcal disease is a very serious disease. It is a major cause of illness and death, particularly amongst the very young. Those with the following conditions should be vaccinated with the pneumonia vaccine (PPV23).

​

Everybody aged 65 years and over and everybody aged 2 years and over with;

• Diabetes

• Chronic lung, heart, liver, or kidney disease

• Chronic neurological disease

• Children aged over 2 years and under 5 years of age with a history of invasive pneumococcal disease

• Coeliac disease

• Down Syndrome

• Cochlear implants or are about to get cochlear implants

• Immune deficiency because of a disease or treatment, including cancer patients

• HIV infection

• Absent spleen or a non-functioning spleen

• CSF leaks, either congenital or complicating skull fractures or neurosurgery

• Intracranial shunt.

 

Pneumonia vaccination is not recommended for healthy children and adults as they are at low risk of pneumococcal disease​