A senior respiratory clinician is reminding local Lanarkshire residents who are at high risk that getting their Winter vaccinations will not only offer protection but help reduce the risk of severe illness from flu and Covid this winter – both of which can cause very serious illnesses.

Appointments are available for anyone at high risk or anyone who is a household contact of someone with a weakened immune system and can be booked through the NHS Inform booking portal at https://vacs.nhs.scot/csp

Professor Andrew Smith, Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at University Hospital Wishaw said:  “While the number of Covid cases has dropped significantly and people have slowly got back to some sort of normality, the reality is that Covid has not gone aware and is still a very serious infection.

“This winter we are expecting to see a significant rise in cases of influenza.  This is already evidence in other countries such as Australia which has already experienced waves of infection this year. This in combination with the ongoing circulation of Covid-19 provides even more reasons for the importance of receiving our winter vaccinations when they are offered.”

If anyone has received an appointment and the date is not suitable it can be rescheduled through the NHS Inform online booking portal to a more suitable date or time.

The programme is already vaccinating eligible care home residents and staff, the housebound, frontline health and social care staff, and appointment letters are being issued for other eligible cohorts in a sequential order determined on nationally agreed clinical priorities.