The life-saving vaccination programme which will protect Northern Ireland against deadly viruses ahead of winter will commence on 18 September, it will see flu and COVID-19 vaccines offered to over 1 million people in Northern Ireland within eligible groups over coming months, starting with carehomes which are some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
Find out below how you can help share the vaccine messages.
Help share the vaccine messages
Share our posts on your own social media channels
Pick those that are relevant to your audiences/communities and share, retweet, cascade. Use the buttons below to access our channels, then simply click and share our posts directly to your own audience.
More traditional ways to promote the autumn/winter vaccine
Write out to your service users or organisation members
Send a text message or share on a WhatsApp group
Talk about it at events
Use and share our resources - public leaflets to support the vaccination programme are available to download below
persons aged 12 to 64 years who are household contacts (as defined in the Green Book) of people with immunosuppression
persons aged 16 to 64 years who are carers (as defined in the Green Book) and staff working in care homes for older adults
Flu vaccine
Those eligible for HSC flu vaccine in 2023/24 are:
all preschool children aged two to four years on 1 September 2023
all primary and secondary (up to and including year 12) school children
those aged six months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined by the influenza chapter in ‘Immunisation against infectious disease’ (the ‘Green Book’)
all those aged 65 years and over on 31 March 2024
pregnant women
those in long-stay residential care homes
carers
close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
frontline health and social care workers (HSCWs) employed by:
Health and social care Trusts including Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS)
community HSC providers including GP practices, pharmacies, dentists, optometrists
registered independent sector residential care or nursing home
registered domiciliary care providers
voluntary managed hospice providers
Letter to client-facing staff employed in HSC contracted services with community and voluntary sector. Please share this letter.
The life-saving vaccination programme which will help protect Northern Ireland against deadly viruses ahead of winter is now due to commence on 18 September, starting with residents in care homes, who are some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
Vaccines are our best protection against COVID-19 and seasonal flu.
Protection from the COVID-19 vaccine can fade over time so it is important you get vaccinated with the 2023/2024 autumn-winter vaccine to keep your protection topped up.
Although we are learning to live with COVID-19, it hasn’t gone away and could potentially result in a real health threat particularly for vulnerable members of our community.
The flu vaccine is needed every year as the antibodies that protect you from flu decline over time, and flu strains change from year to year.
Vaccines are safe and are the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases as they teach our immune system how to recognise and fight viruses.
People who are eligible for vaccination against COVID-19 or flu this autumn and winter should make themselves aware of their own GP surgery’s or community pharmacist’s vaccination arrangements and work with them to get vaccinated.
Autumn/winter vaccine social media resources
Social media resources to promote the autumn/ winter vaccination programme are available to download below
