Older people in Wales are being urged to get their flu vaccine now, before flu begins to circulate.
Older people are more at risk of complications if they catch flu than younger people. Flu can be a serious illness, leading to complications like pneumonia, and every year people in Wales end up in hospital or intensive care units with flu.
Angharad Phillips of Age Cymru urges people to listen to the experts:
“Flu is still a very real health risk to us all, but especially for those of us who are older.
“As we age our immune system becomes less efficient at protecting us and so we should take every precaution we can against a disease that can prove fatal to older people.
“Flu vaccine is the best protection we currently have against flu, it helps protect against catching flu and also against spreading flu to others.
“At Age Cymru we promote uptake of the free NHS flu vaccine every year as part of our own winter health and resilience campaign. We ask that people ‘Spread The Warmth’ to older people and not the flu! Get protected and protect others at the same time.”
Flu does not usually start to circulate before mid-December, so people aged 65 and over should get their vaccine soon for the best possible protection.
For more information visit: www.beatflu.org or www.curwchffliw.org.
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