Flu and Covid both circulate through the winter and both can be far more serious than a heavy cold, particularly for older adults, pregnant women, young children and anyone with a long-term health condition.
Whether your vaccination is free depends on national eligibility criteria, which are set each season and can change from one year to the next. Broadly, free NHS vaccination covers older adults, pregnant women, people with certain health conditions, carers and some frontline health and care workers. The two programmes do not always cover exactly the same groups, so you may qualify for one and not the other.
If you are not eligible, or you would simply rather not wait, you can have either vaccine privately. We will always check your eligibility before charging you, so nobody pays for something they could have had free.
The flu vaccine is updated each year to match the strains expected to circulate, so an annual dose is needed. Covid boosters follow a seasonal programme, since protection from earlier doses and past infection fades over time. Where you are having both, they are usually given in the same visit, in different arms.
- are aged 65 or over (including those who will be 65 by 31 March 2027)
- are aged 18 to 64 and have certain long-term health conditions
- are pregnant
- live in a care home
- are the main carer for an older or disabled person, or receive a carer’s allowance
- live with someone who has a weakened immune system
- are experiencing homelessness or staying in a homeless hostel or night shelter
- are aged 75 or over (including those who will be 75 by 31 January 2027)
- are aged 6 months to 74 years and have a weakened immune system because of a health condition or treatment
- live in a care home for older adults
