The importance of pre-booking your workplace flu vaccinations
Posted on 14th April 2021 at 13:04
It’s more important than ever to plan your staff flu vaccination programme earlier, 2020 and the Covid Pandemic showed us how important it is to protect our staff with early intervention flu jabs.
There are only a finite number of flu vaccines produced every year, in 2020 many companies requested to increase their order of vaccines too late in the year and some of these orders went unfulfilled.
Our Team of Nurses run Workplace flu clinics from September to December
The vaccination season begins on the 20th September and runs through to the end of December. We have recruited more nurses this year to cope with the extra demand. Our nurses are fully qualified vaccination nurses and many have also been involved in the COVID vaccination programme.
Only a certain number Flu vaccines are manufactured
The World Health Organisation has a global network of laboratories, which monitors strains of flu in over 110 countries. As the data is collected and analysed a decision will be made each year on the strains of flu which will be included in the vaccine. This is some ways is only ever a best estimate as the viruses often mutate but there is a point in the year, usually around February when this decision will be made.
Once that decision is made the manufactures will begin production of that new batch and getting your orders in early will give you the best chance of securing the maximum number of vaccines for your business. Only a certain number are manufactured and it is not possible to produce more if the demand is high.
Flu-Xpress has long and well-established relationships with the manufacturers, but there is only a certain number of vaccines produced each year and once these are completed, no one can source anymore!
When is the best time to order your flu vaccines for your workplace?
NOW, we can’t emphasise enough how important it is to get your Organisations flu vaccines order in as early as possible. We are anticipating increased demand for the flu vaccine this year and we are recommending to all our existing and new clients to order as early as you can.
Reuters reported in December 2020 that some northern hemisphere countries were already having trouble sourcing additional flu vaccines due to the increase in demand
How often should the flu vaccine be taken?
As there are new strains of flu each year, it is critical to keep up with an annual regime of vaccinations. Planning your workplace vaccination programme early will help you guarantee your workforce are fully protected.
Am I covered for flu if I have had both of the Covid vaccines?
The simple answer is no you are not covered for the flu when you had completed the two vaccinations of Covid. There are already suggestions that a booster Covid jab will be given to those over 70 at the beginning of the flu season, but getting your flu jab this year along with your two covid 19 vaccines will ensure your staff are protected.
What happens if you get flu and covid at the same time?
Public Heath England warned that getting both viruses at the same time could have serious consequences. Early research in the pandemic found that you were twice as likely to die if you contracted both the flu virus and Covid -19 at the same time.
During 2020 and in early 2021, there has been increased interest from companies wanting to protect their staff against flu. In an aim to reduce sick days from work and also be seen to be taking a proactive approach to their work forces health and wellbeing.
It is important to fact check information on vaccines
Independent academic advice on vaccines is available to the general public via a group called the Vaccine Knowledge Project.
Please make sure you read up on the facts of having a jab and really check the sources to ensure you are getting accurate information to provide members of your teams.
What are some common misconceptions about getting the flu vaccine?
We are often asked if having the flu jab will give the symptoms of flu, this is a misconception. Flu vaccines are made with an inactivated (killed virus) or a single protein so can not give you any symptoms of the flu. This is important to emphasis when communicating with your staff to help improve the take up of the vaccination programme.
If you’d like to find out more about our Workplace Flu Vaccination Clinics, or get a quote, please get in touch with a member of our team here at Flu Xpress.
Tagged as: Workplace Flu Vaccinations
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