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Jersey's winter vaccination campaign opens on Tuesday, offering free flu, Covid and RSV jabs at GP surgeries and pharmacies to older and clinically vulnerable islanders. Public health chief Andrea Sanabria says vaccination is "the best way" to stay protected, urging eligible groups to book early in the season. The offer mirrors NHS programmes across England, where flu claimed around 8,000 lives last winter while vaccination is estimated to have prevented up to 120,000 hospitalisations.
Older and clinically vulnerable islanders are being urged to roll up their sleeves as this winter's free vaccination campaign gets under way in Jersey. From Tuesday, flu, Covid and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) jabs will be available at GP surgeries and pharmacies across the island, with public health officials pressing eligible groups not to wait.
Andrea Sanabria, the island's interim director of public health, said vaccination remains "the best way" of getting protection against the respiratory viruses that pile pressure on hospitals each winter. "Getting vaccinated as early as possible in the season will help ensure you have the best possible protection over the winter months," she said.
!A single-dose vial of flu vaccine Credit: Prefeitura Campinas, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The flu vaccine is on offer to everyone aged 65 and over, adults living in care homes, pregnant women, and people living with long-term health conditions. The Covid booster is aimed at a narrower group: people aged 75 and over, care-home residents, and anyone aged six months and above whose immune system is weakened by illness or treatment. The RSV vaccine, the newest addition to the winter programme, is offered to people aged 75 and over, those aged 65 to 74 with weakened immune systems or a long-term lung condition, pregnant women, and care-home residents.
That three-pronged offer mirrors the approach taken across England and Wales, where winter vaccination campaigns now treat flu, Covid and RSV as a combined seasonal threat. On the mainland, NHS programmes offer the free flu jab to people aged 65 and over, adults aged 18 to 64 with certain long-term conditions, pregnant women, care-home residents and carers, according to NHS guidance on eligibility. Covid boosters are focused on those aged 75 and over and immunocompromised people from six months old, while the RSV vaccine goes to adults aged 75 to 79 and pregnant women from 28 weeks of pregnancy, as set out in the NHS England RSV programme information.
Respiratory viruses spread more readily as temperatures drop and people spend longer indoors. Flu season typically peaks in December and January, which is why health officials want the highest-risk groups protected well before Christmas gatherings mix generations around the same table.
Protection is not instant. It takes around two weeks after vaccination for antibody levels to reach their full strength, so booking early in the autumn is the difference between being shielded for the worst of the season or catching a virus while your immunity is still building. That is the reasoning behind Sanabria's early-in-the-season message, and it is echoed by NHS campaigns across England urging eligible people to come forward from the start of October. Vaccines are the heavy lifters, but the little things help too — researchers have even found that what you eat may help protect the good bacteria in your mouth, another reminder that everyday habits shape how well the body defends itself.
The stakes are not abstract. Last winter, flu claimed around 8,000 lives in England, yet vaccination is estimated to have prevented up to 120,000 hospitalisations, according to the Central and North West London NHS trust's winter flu guidance. Every avoided admission is a hospital bed that stays open for someone else — which matters in a season when the NHS and island health services alike brace for their busiest months.
RSV, meanwhile, has quietly become a major winter burden of its own. The virus usually causes nothing worse than a cold, but in babies and older adults it can trigger pneumonia and bronchiolitis, leading to thousands of hospital admissions each year. It is the latest addition to a long list of respiratory hazards in the headlines — from seasonal flu to the way wildfire smoke is becoming a global health threat to our lungs. The NHS notes that a single dose of the RSV vaccine provides good protection for at least two years, and unlike the flu jab it does not need to be repeated annually.
Covid has not gone away either, even as it has slipped from the headlines. Older adults and immunocompromised people remain the most likely to become seriously unwell, which is why the autumn booster programme continues to be aimed squarely at them. Those eligible for both flu and Covid vaccines can usually have them at the same appointment.
!Vials of flu vaccine during the 2025 influenza vaccine drive at Aviano Air Base Credit: Senior Airman Zachary Jakel / U.S. Air Force, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In Jersey, the jabs are available from Tuesday at GP surgeries and participating pharmacies — a deliberately wide net meant to catch people who may not be registered with a GP or who find it easier to pop into a pharmacy after work. Parents booking for school-age children are juggling more than one public-health message at a time: alongside seasonal vaccination, officials have been warning that vaping could harm children as the UK pushes for tighter controls. Across England, the picture is similar: the NHS has expanded its pharmacy vaccination service, with many pharmacies accepting walk-ins alongside bookings, and a national RSV rollout through pharmacies now under way in parts of the country.
For most people, side effects are mild — typically a sore arm for a day or two, and occasionally tiredness or a slight temperature. The vaccines cannot give you flu or Covid, a point NHS trusts stress every year to counter one of the most persistent myths of vaccination season.
The real test of the campaign will be uptake. Across England, uptake among some groups has been slipping: in Trafford, for example, fewer than one in three eligible carers received a flu jab during the 2025/26 season, prompting the local council to urge more carers to come forward. Health campaigns live or die on whether the message lands — Chris Hoy's call for better prostate screening has shown how a prominent voice can move the needle on public-health uptake, and Sanabria is aiming for the same effect in Jersey. Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland's NHS integrated care board has launched its autumn campaign with a similar plea to the most vulnerable to act early.
Health officials in Jersey will be watching the same numbers. A good autumn could mean a calmer winter on the wards; a poor one could mean a familiar January crunch. For now, the message from the top of public health is simple: if you are eligible, book the appointment.
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In Jersey, the flu jab is offered to everyone aged 65 and over, adults in care homes, pregnant women, and people with long-term health conditions. Across England, NHS eligibility covers people aged 65 and over, adults aged 18 to 64 with certain long-term conditions, pregnant women, care-home residents, carers, and close contacts of people with weakened immune systems.
In Jersey, the Covid vaccine is aimed at people aged 75 and over, care-home residents, and immunocompromised people aged six months and above. England's autumn programme targets the same core groups.
RSV usually causes colds but can trigger pneumonia and bronchiolitis in babies and older adults. Jersey offers the vaccine to people aged 75 and over, those aged 65 to 74 with weakened immunity or a long-term lung condition, pregnant women, and care-home residents. Unlike flu, it does not need repeating every year.
In Jersey, jabs are available from Tuesday at GP surgeries and participating pharmacies. In England, eligible people can book through their GP, a participating pharmacy, the NHS App, or by calling 119.
Side effects are usually mild — typically a sore arm for a day or two, sometimes tiredness or a slight temperature. The vaccines cannot give you flu or Covid.
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