North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood is showing his support for Public Health Wales’s annual campaign aimed at getting more ‘at-risk’ people vaccinated to prevent them getting ill with flu, a debilitating and contagious illness that can kill.
Mr Isherwood (pictured) is joining the calls being made by charities and health professionals and is urging people aged 65 or over, carers, pregnant women and those with certain chronic or long-term illnesses to make an appointment with their local GP and get the free flu vaccine.
He said: “A major flu immunisation programme is underway throughout Wales to offer free vaccines to individuals most at risk of serious complications from flu, and my message to them is ‘Beat flu before it beats you!’
“Last year in Wales only half (49.3%) of those in at-risk groups under the age of 65 took up their free NHS vaccination, and we really need to significantly increase the numbers of people being vaccinated in order to prevent the spread of this largely preventable illness.”
Dr Richard Roberts, Head of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme at Public Health Wales, said: “A free flu vaccine is available for those in at-risk groups, which includes those aged 65 or over, people who have long term health conditions which puts them at increased risk of complications if they get flu, carers, pregnant women as well as all two to six year olds.
“For most people influenza (or ‘the flu’) is usually a relatively minor, albeit unpleasant and inconvenient, illness. But every year vulnerable people can and do die from the flu and its many complications.”
* You can find out more about how to get their free vaccine by visiting www.beatflu.org or www.curwchffliw.org, or finding Beat Flu or Curwch Ffliw on twitter and facebook.
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