Guidance

Adult flu vaccination: reminder letter

Updated 18 November 2020

How to get the flu jab if you’ve been shielding

If you are shielding, you may be eligible for a free flu vaccination if you are in one of the clinical at-risk groups for flu or if your GP determines you need it.

If you’re in a clinical at-risk group for flu, you may be contacted by the National Call and Recall Service and encouraged to get a vaccination at either your registered GP surgery or a community pharmacy. But you should not wait to receive a letter if you believe you are eligible and should inquire at you GP practice of community pharmacy about an appointment.

Your registered GP practice may also invite you to be vaccinated directly. For some vulnerable patients, domiciliary visits may be provided, as judged on clinical need by their registered GP practice.

Providers have strict measures in place to help keep people safe when attending for their vaccination. You will be informed of what these are before attending.

If you haven’t been able to get an appointment for a vaccination with your GP or pharmacy

There is enough vaccine this year for everyone who is eligible to have a flu jab, and you will be able to be vaccinated before flu season starts, which is usually December. However, due to the high demand for the vaccine this year, some people are being asked to wait a short while to have their vaccination. See Why you are being asked to wait for your flu vaccine for more information.

Your GP or pharmacy should advise when they will have more appointments available. If you are aged 50 to 64 and are not in a clinical at-risk group, you will be asked to wait a little later in the season. This is to allow those who are at greatest risk of flu complications to be vaccinated first. You will be informed when you can access a vaccination.

What the barcode on your letter is used for

The barcode on your letter contains your NHS number. This is so that pharmacies can easily match you with your NHS number to avoid any potential confusion over your identity and to capture the information on a GP record. The information will be shared with your GP practice only.

If you’ve received a letter for someone who does not live at your address

To alert the NHS that you’ve received a letter about someone who does not live at your address, tick the box on the envelope that says, ‘Addressee no longer at this address’. Return to sender by putting the envelope into a letterbox. There’s no need to add a stamp.

If the original NHS envelope has been lost, you can place the letter in a new envelope and address it to:

PO BOX 397
BRISTOL
BS9 0DP

You do not need to add a stamp.

If there’s an error in your letter

The names and addresses used to send out the flu vaccination reminder letters by the National Call and Recall Service are the same as are held at GP practices.

• if you’ve recently moved house, make sure the details held at your GP practice are correct and updated
• if your name is incorrect, please contact your GP practice to get your record updated
• if you’ve received a letter and the person is not known at your address, then please return to sender using the tick box on the front of the envelope
• if you’ve received a letter and it’s raised any concerns about your health please speak to your GP practice

Visit NHS England for more information about our purposes for processing your data or if you would like to make a complaint

For any other queries about your personal circumstances, please contact your health care professional in the first instance.

If you don’t want a flu vaccination

You can decline the flu vaccination by contacting your registered GP practice and making a request for this to be added to your record.

This means no further contact will be made about the flu vaccination for this year, nor any future years, unless your GP record is updated again.

However, depending upon when you decline, you may still receive another letter. If this happens, you can just ignore it.

If you no longer have your letter

You will not need a duplicate letter if you have lost or damaged the original. As the NHS is contacting some 30 million people this flu season, it is not possible to produce individual duplicate letters.

Ideally, take your letter to the vaccination appointment, but this is not necessary as other checks can be made on-site to make sure the data and information is correct and matches the information held at the GP practice.

You should still go ahead and book your appointment.