Still time for eligible residents to get flu jab

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Health and wellbeing
Young girl with brightly coloured plaster on her arm

If you or your loved ones are eligible for a free flu vaccination it is not too late to have one.

While the NHS online booking system has closed for 2024, if you are in the following groups you can still have a free NHS flu vaccine at:

  • your GP surgery
  • a pharmacy offering the service, if you're aged 18 or over
  • some maternity services, if you're pregnant
  • children can also get caught up on missed vaccinations at community clinics

Eligible groups include:

  • children aged two or three years on 31 August 2024
  • school-aged children
  • older people, aged 65 years and over
  • pregnant women
  • people with an underlying health condition
  • carers
  • close contacts of people who have a weakened immune system

For everything you need to know about vaccinations, including if you are eligible, visit Kent and Medway’s Get Vaccinated Now website.

You can also find the latest locations, dates and how to book for community clinics for children on the Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust website.

The community clinic locations and dates for January 2024 are:

11 January

  • College Road Clinic, Margate
  • St Mary's Parish Hall, Dover
  • The Abbey School, Faversham
  • Tonbridge Cottage Hospital, Tonbridge
  • The Heathside Centre, Coxheath, Maidstone
  • 9th Dartford Scout Hut, Dartford

25 January

  • Sheppey Community Hospital, Sheerness
  • Hawkinge Community Hall, Hawkinge
  • Exchange House, Canterbury
  • Tonbridge Cottage Hospital, Tonbridge
  • Clover Street Clinic, Chatham
  • The Heathside Centre, Coxheath, Maidstone
  • Gravesham Community Hospital, Gravesend
Between the words in black type against a vivid yellow background 'Get Vaccinated' and 'Get Winter Strong', a group of people of mixed ages, including a pregnant woman, fight off viruses.

The #GetWinterStrong campaign urges everyone who is eligible for free vaccines to have them. Eligible groups are most at risk from getting complications from viral infections like flu.

Kent County Council’s Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr Ellen Schwartz, said: “While it’s best to get vaccinated in the autumn, before flu starts to circulate widely, it’s not too late to get protected.

“Parents and carers should also be assured that the flu vaccine for little ones is usually given as a quick and painless spray up the nose. As well as helping reduce the chances of your toddler getting sick and spreading flu to others, it also lowers the odds you will need to take days off work to look after them.”