Toolkit for supporting flu vaccination uptake
This toolkit is designed to help peer vaccinators, ward managers and local flu champions across UHB support colleagues to make an informed choice about flu vaccination and make it as easy as possible for them to get vaccinated.
Peer vaccinators are at the heart of this year’s People Like Us Protect campaign. Your role is not simply to administer vaccines. You are a trusted colleague who can start positive conversations, listen to questions and concerns, share clear information and help remove practical barriers to vaccination.
Our approach is simple: vaccination should feel normal, supported, inclusive and easy to access, wherever you work, whatever your role and whatever shift you work.
Last winter showed why this matters.
At the peak, more than 270 patients with flu were being cared for across UHB, equivalent to around eight wards. For seven consecutive weeks, more than 200 beds each day were occupied by patients with flu. More than 46,000 working days were also lost as colleagues became unwell.
Vaccinations are available to UHB colleagues from Thursday 1 October. From that point, our focus is simple: make vaccination visible, make it easy and make sure colleagues know where they can get vaccinated today.
Why flu vaccination matters
Flu is not just a bad cold. For some people it can cause serious illness, hospitalisation and complications.
Vaccination is one of the most effective actions we can take to reduce our risk from flu and help protect the people around us.
Protect yourself: Vaccination reduces your risk from flu and lowers your chances of serious illness. It also helps you stay well through winter.
Protect your patients: Many of the people we care for are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of flu because of their age, underlying conditions, treatment or weakened immune systems. Vaccinating ourselves adds another layer of protection.
Protect your team: Winter is challenging enough without yourself or colleagues becoming unwell. Vaccination helps us protect one another and supports teams to continue providing safe, high-quality care.
That is what People Like Us Protect means. It is about creating a culture of protection, rather than using pressure or guilt.
What we know about the flu vaccine
Effectiveness and impact
The flu vaccine does not prevent every case of flu, but it significantly reduces the likelihood of serious illness.
During the 2024/25 season in England:
| Flu vaccination is estimated to have prevented 96,000 to 120,200 hospitalisations. | Vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation ranged from 38% in adults aged 65 and over to 75% in children aged 2 to 17. | There were 7,757 excess deaths during a season of high flu activity in England. |
Research specifically involving UK healthcare workers also found influenza vaccination reduced the risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza infection by around 40% during winter 2023/24.
Remember, protection is not all or nothing. Even when vaccination does not prevent infection completely, it is an important way of reducing our risk of serious flu.
Who should be vaccinated?
UHB encourages eligible colleagues to take up the flu vaccination, including colleagues across clinical and non-clinical roles.
Every role matters.
Please remember the campaign is not only about nursing teams. Make sure colleagues including doctors, allied health professionals, students, volunteers and eligible non-clinical colleagues know about the vaccination offer and make time and space to offer vaccination to any colleague, student or volunteer.
Our campaign is designed around the principle that every role, every shift, every site and every community should be able to access vaccination.
Why do we need a flu vaccination every year?
There are three important reasons:
| Protection reduces over time |
| Flu viruses change constantly |
| Having had flu previously does not guarantee protection against the strains circulating this winter |
Annual vaccination gives you protection against the flu viruses expected to be circulating during the coming season.
Is the flu vaccine safe?
The injectable flu vaccine cannot give you flu.
The vaccine uses inactivated virus components that cannot replicate in your body. Some people may experience mild side effects such as:
| Soreness or redness where the vaccination was given |
| Muscle aches |
| Feeling mildly feverish |
These are generally short-lived. Serious reactions such as anaphylaxis are extremely rare.
The flu vaccination is also safe during all trimesters of pregnancy.
Becoming a peer vaccinator
Please read the relevant Patient Group Direction (PGD) and be confident in or complete the required flu immunisation competency training. Make sure all required local competency, management sign-off and mandatory training requirements are completed before vaccinating.
Useful resources
PGD for the administration of the relevant influenza vaccine (will open only if using a networked Trust computer)
Watch the Peer Vaccinator Masterclass
Celebrate success
Thank your people for taking part.
Celebrate teams making progress and share positive stories. Recognition helps reinforce the message that vaccination is something colleagues across UHB are doing together. Positive reinforcement, not pressure.
Staff Facebook groups
Good Hope Hospital staff Facebook group
Heartlands Hospital staff Facebook group
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham staff Facebook group
Solihull Hospital and community services staff Facebook group
You can also send your photographs and stories to the Communications Team.
Useful mythbusters and conversation starters
mythbusters
| Myth | Busted |
|---|---|
| "I’m healthy, so I don’t need the vaccine" | Being healthy doesn't mean you cannot catch flu or become seriously unwell. Vaccination reduces your risk and can also help protect the vulnerable people you care for. |
| "The vaccine gave me flu last time" | The injectable flu vaccine cannot give you flu because it does not contain live flu virus capable of causing infection. Feeling achy, developing a sore arm or having a mild temperature can happen after vaccination and is usually short-lived. |
| "I had COVID vaccines, so I’m protected" | Flu and COVID-19 are caused by different viruses. A COVID vaccination does not replace your annual flu vaccination. |
| "I've already had flu" | Flu viruses change, and previous infection does not guarantee protection against the strains circulating this winter. |
| "The vaccine doesn’t work" | No vaccine provides 100% protection, but vaccination makes a real difference. In England, flu vaccination was estimated to have prevented 96,000 to 120,200 hospitalisations during 2024/25. |
| "I’m pregnant, I can’t have the flu jab” | The flu vaccination is safe during pregnancy, including in all three trimesters. |
Conversation starters
You don't need a script. Start with a normal conversation. The aim is conversation, not confrontation.
| Theme | Conversation starter |
|---|---|
| Curious | “What are your thoughts about having your flu vaccination this year?” |
| Personal | “I've had mine because I want to protect myself and the people I look after.” |
| Practical | “Have you had yours yet? I can do it now if you'd like.” |
| Supportive | “Is there anything you're unsure about or would like to ask before deciding?” |
| Team-focused | “We're trying to make it really easy for everyone in the team. Would you like yours while I'm here?” |
| Patient-focused | “For me, it's another thing I can do to help protect the patients we care for.” |
| Barrier-focused | “Is there anything that's made it difficult for you to get vaccinated so far?” |
Resources
Download the full Peer Vaccinators: Your Guide To A Successful Local Campaign toolkit.
Peer Vaccinators: Your Guide To A Successful Local Campaign
For any additional queries around peer vaccination, please email the Communications Team.