SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, is urging his constituents to make sure they take up the offer of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus jab.
Mr Rowlands, Shadow Health Minister, was commenting after Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said vaccinations would start this month.
He said: “As we move into Autumn and head towards the Winter it is vital that we all continue to look after ourselves.
“This virus affects the chest and lungs and can cause serious illness for older people and young children and I would urge over 75s and pregnant women, who will be offered the RSV vaccine, to take this extra protection.
“I welcome this additional jab being offered to my constituents in North Wales and hope that plenty of people will take up this opportunity to keep themselves safe.”
From September 2024, older people following their 75th birthday and all women who are 28 or more weeks pregnant will be offered an RSV vaccine.
This one-off vaccine will help to protect the elderly and newborn babies from the risk of serious illness caused by RSV.
The vaccine has been fully tested and trialled, and is safe and effective and is already in use in countries around the world, and has been shown to significantly reduce the number of hospital admissions related to RSV among older people and young children.
If you are over 75 you may be invited to receive the vaccine at your GP surgery or one of the health board’s vaccination centres. Please look out for your invitation, or bookable clinics advertised by your surgery. People who live in a care home or who are housebound will be offered the vaccine in their home.
People aged 75 to 80, born on or after September 1,1944, will be invited to receive the RSV vaccine in the coming months. This catch-up vaccination programme will run over the next 12 months, with all eligible people offered the vaccine by August 31 2025.
The health board will write to you if you are over 28 weeks pregnant to offer you an appointment to receive the vaccine at one of our vaccination clinics, or may contact you by phone to arrange an appointment with you.
If you give birth during September without having had the vaccine during pregnancy, you may still offer you the RSV vaccine following birth. This will help to give some protection to your new baby by reducing the chances of the virus being passed on to them.
