Covid-19 has shown us how simple but effective steps help us stay well – hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, staying home when we are unwell, and vaccination. It has shown how our whānau can really step up when it comes to their health and that of their whānau and community.
While our Covid-19 vaccination programme continues, we are now also looking ahead to winter and the flu season.
Many of our whānau get their flu vaccine each year and this year it is even more important as we prepare for the return of seasonal flu now that international borders are open again. While the flu virus can circulate year-round, we mostly have seasonal outbreaks in Aotearoa. Each year a different variant of the virus makes its way here from the Northern Hemisphere where it has already had the northern winter to thrive and spread.
The flu can be dangerous for kaumātua, hapū māmā, tamariki who have been unwell before with respiratory illness, and any whānau with diabetes, heart and lung conditions and other illnesses. Vaccination is free if you are in these groups, but the criteria is broader than this, so if you are worried about how the flu would affect your health this winter please get in touch.
Flu vaccines are usually available from April, and we’ll provide more information on our website, Facebook and Instagram closer to the time.
Let’s get ready for winter by protecting ourselves against debilitating flu as well as COVID-19 – and yes you can get both vaccinations at the same time
