Vaccination

Hundreds of thousands of young children now to be protected against chickenpox

Hundreds of thousands of families with young children will be offered protection against chickenpox as part of their routine childhood vaccinations from today. The NHS’s vaccination programme is being expanded to include chickenpox (also known as varicella) for the first time to help shield young children from getting seriously ill. From now on, GP practices will start to offer children a […]

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NHS patients urged to come forward for care as usual during resident doctors’ strikes

The NHS is urging patients to continue coming forward for care with thousands of resident doctors expected to go on strike. Industrial action begins at 7am today (Friday 14 November) until 7am on Wednesday 19 November and hospital teams across the country are working round the clock to ensure disruption is minimised for patients. Plans […]

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Waiting list down as NHS ‘approaches its limit’ ahead of strikes and flu

The NHS waiting list is 230,000 lower than July last year, even as the health service ‘approaches its limit’ with A&E and ambulances facing record demand ahead of winter. The overall waiting list for September was 7.39 million (an estimated 6.24 million patients) down 15,845 compared to the previous month and 230,000 fewer than July […]

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Fire station vaccine pop-ups to extinguish flu ‘wildfire’

Parents will be able to get their children protected against flu at a fire station this half term, as the NHS ramps up its winter vaccine campaign next week. England’s most senior nurse has warned parents that flu can spread like wildfire in schools and has urged them to ensure their children get vaccinated before […]

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Huge increase in flu vaccination as cases rise

The NHS has vaccinated nearly a million more people against flu so far this autumn compared to last year – providing vital protection ahead of winter as cases start to rise. New data today reveals 4.3 million people have received the flu vaccine – including 3.57 million last week alone – as NHS teams across […]

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