Has anyone been told they cannot have a flu jab because they have not had a prescription for their inhaler for a period of time?
I have received an NHS letter, however, my doctors surgery feels that I am not eligible. Although I am lucky enough for my asthma to be under control at the moment, I am still asthmatic and am feeling penalised.
Are you on steroid inhalers and do you take them regularly? I think to be eligible for a free flu jab you need to be taking a preventer inhaler (Asthma UK) - if you are not needing to take it (and haven't been for a while) then I guess you may no longer be eligible. But you can pay for one for about £10 if this is the case. If you are taking a preventer inhaler then I don't know what they're talking about 😅
Hi, don't quite understand what a proventer has to do with the flu jab as I CAN'T have one due to being allergic to all of the proventers on the market and I still get a free flu jab if I want it.
I would get a second opinion as you are at risk and have your letter just because you have had a good spell don't mean that your not eligible any longer.
Take care
The preventer shows the need for a flu jab. It doesn’t have to be a steroid inhaler, just something more than just ventolin on prescription so either 2+ asthma prescriptions (ie montelukast and ventolin) OR just a steroid inhaler/tablets (to cover those on MART).
If you’re controlled to the point you don’t take any asthma medications and haven’t ordered for a certain amount of time (6+ months I think) then you can be declared ineligible for a free jab. However as Twinkly29 said, you can still get one privately done, just like anyone else who aren’t eligible can.
So I guess my situation is quite different as I am supposed to have a proventer but due to the fact that I am allergic to them all I'm just issued with veltoline evohalors but I'm still able to receive the free flu jab if I require it?
Yeah. You’ll be seen as unstable. However IMO it is worth asthma about trying a different preventer like montelukast to see if that makes a difference
My doctor done that a few years ago as all I knew was becotide was the one that caused me to actually have asthma attacks so he monitored me with some others and none of them helped he called me back and told me that it seems like I'm allergic to all proventers and he wasn't going to put me through anymore risks of attacks while trying to find a slim chance after we had tried all the top ones he even put it on my notes but said I'm now intitled to two ventolin and if I have an attack use a nebuliser
Did he refer you to secondary care? If a GP thinks a patient has a steroid allergy they should be referred to the hospital as they have other drugs available to help control, without the risks associated with the over reliance on ventolin (pretty sure this is in the asthma guidelines 😅)
Not that I can remember but I was already under heart and lung for different reasons maybe they were co-operating with eachother via email or phone referral as I was between the two on a weekly to monthly basis
If you’re not under them/seeing them now it’s worth asking for a referral. If you didn’t discuss your asthma with the hospital then you most likely weren’t referred, and if there were other things going on at the time this would have been forgotten about and not passed over.
Agree with Emma, the preventer inhaler will be the minimum level of care to be eligible for a free fu jab. It's used as an example because that's what the vast majority would have.
My daughter has difficult to control asthma so Is vulnerable , this year our gp sent a letter for everyone in the family to have flu vaccination to protect her. I’m 50, have no health conditions and had mine weeks ago as requested by the gp. My understanding is they are encouraging more people to have it this year.
I am in the same situation as your daughter, clinically extremely vulnerable due to difficult to manage asthma. My partner has been informed that only I was entitled to the flu jab
Flu jab eligibility for asthma is decided by having 2 or more asthma medications on prescription (ie a preventer and a reliever), or by having just a steroid inhaler (the rules are changing due to MART I think). If you are not ordering your inhalers (and so aren’t taking them) you can lose that eligibility. Preventers should be taken daily even when well, but if you’ve gone long enough without using one or ordering one then the GP may say you aren’t eligible. The nhs letters are automatic from prescription, the GP can look at compliance.
I hope this makes sense
I'd try a pharmacy, see if they will give you a free jab. If they won't you may have to pay about £10 to get one.If you are aged 65 or more you can get a free jab, without the need for any ongoing illness.
Here, in Canada, my doctor told me that just being diagnosed with asthma qualifies you for a free flu jab. I don’t see how determining if you use this medication or that, that it would disqualify you. The fact that you have asthma should be enough of a risk.
Hi VickyK80, yes, in order to be eligible for a flu vaccine on the NHS you need to be on a prescribed inhaled steroid (preventer inhaler). If you have asthma you should be on one every day even when you are well. There are very few asthmatics who are deemed not to need this. I've included a few links you might find helpful. asthma.org.uk/advice/inhale...
asthma.org.uk/advice/inhale...
👍😊
Update and What have people been told about having Covid jab while taking prednisolone?
Been told i may have asthma by my gp
