Thank you for attending the drive through flu clinic, your support and patience is greatly appreciated. Our drive through clinics proved very popular for our patients aged 65 years and over, as well as our vulnerable patients aged under 65 years, so we hope that you enjoy this too. To help:
- Please wash your hands before attending and do not attend your appointment early.
- Do not attend if you or a member of your household have COVID symptoms and/or have been asked to isolate due to Test & Trace.
- Once directed to the appropriate lane, please remain in your vehicle and keep your windows shut, unless instructed otherwise.
- Please wear a face covering throughout and wear appropriate clothing to enable easy access to your shoulder.
- There are no toilet facilities available and once guided into a lane, please turn your engine off whilst you wait to be vaccinated.
- Before the Clinician reaches you, you will be greeted by a surgery receptionist or administrator, who will confirm your details.
- If you are sat on the driver’s side you’ll be vaccinated in your right arm and if you are on the front passenger side you’ll be vaccinated in your left arm, unless there is a clinical reason not to do so. Staff will be unable to assist with any other clinical matters on the day.
- When being vaccinated please look straight forward or the other way, and once vaccinated you’ll be asked to wait in your car for a further 5 minutes.
- In the unlikely event that you feel unwell, please can you raise the alarm by sounding your horn and we recommend that you do not attend alone, so that someone can monitor you whilst you are in the car. This is a precautionary measure as this will be your first flu vaccination, although adverse reactions are very rare.
After Care
Flu vaccines are very safe. After having the vaccine, some people get tenderness, pain at injection site, redness, swelling, slight temperature, feel tired, have a headache, or have aching muscles.
Try these tips to help reduce the discomfort: continue to move your arm regularly take a painkiller, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen – some people, including those who are pregnant, should not take ibuprofen unless a doctor recommends it.
Most reactions are mild or moderate and resolve spontaneously within 1-2 days. Other side effects are very rare. The flu vaccine will not give you flu but will protect you from getting flu. It does not protect against colds and other flu-like illnesses.
Thank you
Finally, thank you to Looe Lions for their help and please respect that these times are challenging for us all, so your help in keeping everyone involved and in the community safe is greatly appreciated.
