Free Flu jab – but not for all carers
Having just had my 5th flu jab in as many years, it amazes me that they are not made freely available for all caregivers whether paid or unpaid. Imagine you are caring for someone 24/7 – they may be elderly, they may have dementia – and you get flu!
You can’t imagine it. Flu is debilitating, you can’t look after yourself, let alone someone else. The only time I have had real flu, was a long time ago, in my 20’s. I was newly wed and thank goodness did not have children then. My husband had it at the same time and literally, all we could do was crawl to the loo. We desperately hoped my Mum would call by and make us a cup of tea. It lasted days and it was so painful.
So,
We offer a Free flu shot to people over 65 (end of)
- people with chronic heart disease
- chronic respiratory disease
- chronic renal disease
- chronic liver disease
- chronic neurological disease
- Asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen
- Diabetes
- immunosuppression
- pregnant
- People living in long-stay residential care homes or other long-stay
- care facilities
But ……no free shot for the thousands of carers who help keep our elderly loved ones safe and well and those caring for there elderly loved ones and those people with dementia. Is this not wrong? Is this also not incredibly short-sighted?
For £5-£9 that the shot costs – would this not save the country a fortune too? Who is going to care for the people who need it whilst those carers with Flu recover?
Flu is not a heavy cold or mild virus that lays you low for 24 hours. Real flu, completely knocks you out for a full week or more, and can take weeks or months to recover from. Many people suffer a form of post-flu depression too.
Surely Prevention is cheaper than respite care and even potentially hospital admission for a loved one? This one won’t be left unquestioned.
