At-Risk Groups

The flu vaccination is offered to people in at-risk groups. These people are at greater risk of developing serious complications if they catch flu, such as pregnant women and elderly people.

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We strongly recommend people in at-risk groups to get the flu vaccine:

• People aged 65 years and over

• Pregnant women

• People (adults and children) with long-term medical conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver, kidney disease, cancer, chronic lung disease including COPD, asthma or neurological diseases

• People whose immune system is impaired due to disease or treatment including cancer patients

• Persons who are obese who have a body mass index (BMI) of over 40

• People with Down syndrome

• Residents of nursing homes and other long-stay institutions

• Healthcare workers

• Carers and household contacts of people at medical risk of the complications of flu* (only household contacts or carers of people who have an underlying chronic health condition or have Down syndrome are eligible to receive an influenza vaccine. A carer is described as someone who is providing an ongoing significant level of care to a person who is in need of care in the home due to illness or disability or frailty.)

• People with regular close contact with poultry, water fowl or pigs

 

*Please note: household contacts of people aged 65 years and older (who do not also have a chronic health condition), of pregnant women, of children aged 2-17 years or of healthcare workers/carers cannot avail of the HSE season influenza vaccine provided free to all those in high risk groups and have to the source the flu vaccine privately.

 

You should not  get the flu vaccine if you have had a severe allergic (anaphylaxis) reaction to a previous dose or any part of the vaccine. Don’t get the flu vaccine if you are taking medicines called combination checkpoint inhibitors (e.g. ipilimumab plus nivolumab).

 

Vaccination should be re-scheduled if you have an acute illness with a temperature greater than 38°C.

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For information on the children's flu vaccine, see Childhood Care & Immunisations.

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Useful Links on Flu Vaccines

• What is flu?

• Flu vaccine for children

• Flu vaccine during pregnancy

• Flu vaccine for healthcare workers

• Under the weather: Flu

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Pneumococcal Vaccine

Pneumococcal disease is a very serious disease. It is a major cause of illness and death, particularly amongst the very young. Those with the following conditions should be vaccinated with PPV23.

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Everybody aged 65 years and over and everybody aged 2 years and over with ;

• Diabetes

• Chronic lung, heart, liver, or kidney disease

• Chronic neurological disease

• Children aged over 2 years and under 5 years of age with a history of invasive pneumococcal disease

• Coeliac disease

• Down Syndrome

• Cochlear implants or are about to get cochlear implants

• Immune deficiency because of a disease or treatment, including cancer patients

• HIV infection

• Absent spleen or a non-functioning spleen

• CSF leaks, either congenital or complicating skull fractures or neurosurgery

• Intracranial shunt.

 

PPV23 vaccination is not recommended for healthy children and adults as they are at low risk of pneumococcal disease​.

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Shingles Vaccine

Shingles is caused by the same virus as chickenpox – the herpes-zoster virus. Once you have the virus, it remains in your body, and can become active again in later life where it develops into shingles.

Of the 95% of adults who’ve had chickenpox, around a quarter will go on to develop shingles* – and it’s more likely to happen as you get older. It can be reactivated when your immune system weakens due to increasing age, stress, or certain conditions and treatments.

Shingles can be painful and the older you are, the worse it can be. Although most people fully recover from shingles, some are with long-term nerve pain that continues for months or even years after the blisters and rash have healed – this is called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). The older you are, the higher the chance of developing PHN as a result of shingles.

Why get a shingles vaccination?

The vaccine not only helps reduce your risk of developing shingles, but can lessen the severity and duration of any symptoms if you do, as well as cutting your risk of developing PHN.

Studies have shown that four months after two doses of the Shingrix(Shingle Vaccine) vaccine that its efficacy at preventing shingles was as follows:**

• Aged 50 to 69 years 100%

• Aged 70 to 79 years 93%

• Aged 80 years and older 71%

 

If you do get shingles, the vaccine can also help reduce the severity of the symptoms and also the risk of developing post herpetic neuralgia (PHN), the long-lasting nerve pain that follows shingles.