Nigel Evans had a flu vaccination today which was arranged by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Vaccine Group at the Houses of Parliament.
Seasonal flu (influenza) is a highly infectious illness and it is important that those most at risk are vaccinated each year. The Department of Health recommends free flu vaccinations for those over the age of 65 and for people with certain chronic conditions as respiratory, heart, renal, liver or neurological disease as well as diabetes and people with low immune systems.
Speaking from Westminster, Mr Evans said:
“I would encourage everybody over the age of 65 to arrange their vaccination and anybody who is advised by their GP that they are in a high risk group.
“The current uptake rates in the East Lancashire Primary Care Trust are 72.3% for the over 65s and 47.7% for those at risk under 65 years old. Clearly anybody involved in public health would want those numbers to be as high as possible so it is important for families and friends to think about who might be in need of a vaccination.”