Single mums should be offered a free flu jab?

The other thing is that you're assuming having two parents means you do 50/50 childcare when you're ill.

It's fairly common for a male partner to be sicker (whether perceived or in reality) so you end up looking after man and baby while sick yourself.

I'm a bit puzzled at people trotting out the "Well, unless you were flat on your back for 2 weeks it wasn't flu" line. If Covid- and regular testing for it- taught us one thing, wasn't it that it's possible for some people to be infected with a potentially deadly virus and suffer only from mild cold- type symptoms?

YANBU OP. But any suggestion here that any kind of concession be made for single mums is going to get jumped on. Have you been accused of "making a lifestyle choice" yet? It's in the patriarchy's interest to ensure that single mums have as miserable a time as possible to discourage mothers with shit male partners from leaving them.

They could make things a bit less divisive by offering the jab to all parents of babies and toddlers though.

I was very lucky in that I have asthma, so was offered free jabs. An absolute lifeline- I was terrified of getting ill when the DC were small. I seem to have fallen off the free jabs list recently- probably because our surgery is buckling under the sheer weight of all the pensioners. But that's OK, because my DC are now just about old enough to fend for themselves up to a point.

I’m a doctor. People say flu and it’s not flu. Flu can hospitalise people in their 30s. If you managed to function after a couple of days it’s not flu. We test for it in hospital like Covid.

Being poorly and a sole parent to a poorly young baby is extremely hard. Be kind to yourself and take it easy.

but those groups are because they are more at risk themselves. not because if they became ill people they care for might suffer.

Where would you draw the line?

You've already expanded from single mums to all single parents, and then to all new parents. How about people who are carers for elderly or disabled relatives, they would be as incapacitated as single parents and the people they care for are as vulnerable (possibly more so depending on the age of the child) than children. How about people who are in relationships but the partner works away, in the army, on oil rigs or whatever? When do you decide a child is old enough to look after itself if their parent did get the flu?

It would end up being free for 80% of the population at which point you may as well make it free for everyone because the admin would outweigh the savings.

Besides which it only prevents against one illness. perhaps the single parent wouldn't get the flu but gets a horrendous bout of norovirus or breaks both their arms, there's no magic solution for that. If someone doesn't have enough of a support network to help in any short-term emergency that's more of a concern than reducing the possibility of them getting one specific illness.

The jab is only £13 in asda! same as a nice bottle of wine. Someone upthrea said it is even cheaper in superdrug. Most people can afford that if it's a priority for them. By the time you've bought a bottle or two of night nurse and multiple packs of nurofen and lemsip the jab is much cheaper than medication to treat the flu.

Same but I accept it as if I get ill life is very hard.

Unfortunately, you may not have benefited even if you had one. You might have a different virus or a different strain of flu.
It is extremely hard as a single parent so much sympathy but no, I don’t think it should be free for single parents.

I'm surprised lupus doesn't qualify you for a free flu jab.

But agree with others you can always find someone who get it free because .....

I get it because I'm the main carer for my ds who is 20 now and in the vulnerable group. I'm also a LP but if married only 1 person is entitled as "main carer".

We've just had it this morning. He also got the covid jab but unlike previous years I'm not entitled to it as a carer.

Ironically I've had it twice (once ore jabs and once 6 weeks after!) and he's never caught it.

Same here. My GP put me on the free-flu-jab list when I was both a single parent to a small child, and the primary carer for my late mother - I didn't even have to ask. I think he just thought: bloody hell if she goes down, two other people go down with her. It was in the NHS's interests to keep me on my feet.

This time of year it's unlikely it was flu, season is only just starting. I haven't even had my jab yet, scheduled for end of month (Not UK though) as my doctor strongly recommended against getting my Covid booster and flu shot too closely together.

However if UK is like the USA/Canada right now, Covid is running rampant. I've lost count of the number of people I know who have had it.

The UK is narrower in its recommendations than other countries. USA and Canada are both universal vaccination for 6mos and older.

Yes I think it’s something lots of us learn the hard way. I paid for a flu jab this year as I think I had flu (was really sick and tested negative for Covid) last winter. Then this year I’ve been really sick with Covid so am contemplating forking out £50-100 for a Covid jab next year sometime. I realize I’m lucky to be in a position where I can afford it.

But more than likely you don’t have the flu, you have a run of the mill virus for which there is no vaccine.

I have 2 long term underlying health conditions (asthma and a non-working pancreas) and I have stage 3 cancer and I can’t manage to book in for my NHS flu jab or even a private one at the moment as there are no slots.

Can you afford to put 50p a month aside each month ready for next years flu shot? Or even a £1?

Also op if you have lupus are you sure you aren’t entitled to a free one anyway as you’re immunocompromised? Although I read flu vaccine can cause lupus flare up so you’d need to weigh up that risk anyway.

It does sound challenging - I have no kids but a very responsible job and I’m struggling with balancing that with looking after myself as I enter my third week of feeling too sick really to leave the house, so I can’t imagine how much worse it must be for people who have a small child utterly dependent on them.

I suppose when you’re better it might be worth having a think about whether you do have any other sources of support (I had two parents my whole childhood but they made emergency arrangements with close friends that if anything serious happened the kids would be looked after); maybe in the past extended families and godparenting covered some of this. Or maybe there isn’t anything possible in your particular circumstances, in which case I guess it’s a matter of getting through as best you can (sounds like you’re doing an amazing job) and knowing that they gradually get less dependent as they get older.

"however there is no provision for under 2s and new parents."

Babies over 6 months who are clinically vulnerable can get it. 2 and 3 year olds are given it because they are big spreaders of flu.