Single mums should be offered a free flu jab?

Because ultimately it's cheaper than picking up the pieces if a sole carer for young children can't cope? Also why wouldn't single dads get it - the criteria would be lone parent?

Simply because you can't help everyone is no reason to help no one.

But the flu jab is a private service if you're not eligible for the NHS free one.

Why does a single Mom getting it for free take precedence over a single Dad? Or a woman in an abusive relationship?

As others have said, flu doesn’t mean “a very nasty cold”. It’s a specific virus. You can’t know you’ve had it unless you’ve been tested. It’s very early in the season for flu, much more likely to have been covid or a bad cold based on timing alone.

I paid for a flu jab a month ago. I’m now in my third week of being horribly ill with first covid (tested so I know that’s what it was) and then either lingering symptoms from that, or another cold. Having the flu jab does nothing to protect you from covid, colds or any of the many other illnesses that can make you really unwell. It doesn’t even stop you getting flu, just makes it milder (and doesn’t even do that if it’s a different strain of the virus from the one you’ve been vaccinated against).

I think people sometimes think that the flu jab is a magic preventative to stop them getting any seasonal illness. It isn’t, and that’s why it’s only on offer on the NHS to those who might become very seriously ill if they got that one specific thing, the actual flu.

That’s why I said “low income” and not “in receipt of benefits”. It should be for people earning under a set household income, regardless of whether it’s through UC or work.

The people you have mentioned are more likely to end up in hospital. It’s about hospitals not been over run.

For future reference Superdrug is the cheapest place to get the flu jab.

But if their wage is being made up to a minimum living of standard why should they be entitled to a free flu jab over people who are at a minimum living standard with no help of UC? They are now at the same pay level so why would one get it free and not the other?

I see where you're coming from. But you can get the flu jab for £10, which is worth the money to balance out the very real issue you've outlined.

Realistically the NHS cannot provide it for all due to cost, so it is entirely right they focus on health related risk groups. Single parents as a demographic are not a clinical need.

Covid jabs are worse Op, if you don't qualify for a free one you can buy one at Boots for £98 and that's beyond a lot of people's budgets.

Can your DD have neurofen or similar? We've always found that much better when they are unwell and lasts longer so we would alternate to make sure they were always covered and try to time it so neurofen was before bed and would get a better night that way

The high cost of childcare distorts a lot of incentives to work harder.

40% of people on UC are in work so if they are earning a wage and getting topped up why can’t they pay?

I don’t know how it all works so I could be wrong here, but if they’re receiving UC + their wage, I thought that was to bring them up to a minimum living standard (so still very low in comparison to most others)?

Lots of places of work allow you to get it and claim it back. Worth finding out if your work offers it.

40% of people on UC are in work so if they are earning a wage and getting topped up why can’t they pay? Unfortunately people do choose benefits over working more hours because of the cost of childcare and other reasons also. I spoke with someone last month and they were applying for another job but couldn’t or wouldn’t go for it in the end because it was a few more hours and she would not be entitled to as much UC, now she could of made that loss of money up by more hours but chose not to. I’m not saying everyone does that but I bet a high percentage of people on UC do factor that in with their working hours

That’s not why carers receive a flu vaccine. It’s so they are less likely to pass on flu to the person they are caring for.

Flu vaccination for a pregnant woman will protect her infant until up to 6 months old, at which point vulnerable 6+ month olds can also receive a free jab.

No need to go to the lowest common denominator - "we can't help everyone so let's help no one".

In two-parent families, it may be that there is only one effective parent caring for the kids. In single-parent families, it definitely is.

You can self-ID as a carer on forms. I don't actually see much difference between being a carer for say an elderly person or a baby - they both take all your time and energy.

But again what about Moms that are in marriages or relationships with lazy or abusive partners that don't help or refuse them access to money?

How do you know it was flu OP? Unless you had a test to confirm it, you don't, however bad you felt. As you say, you react very badly to colds and need a few days in bed. There are some awful colds around atm, plus Covid. It's pretty early in the winter for flu to be circulating, so chances are it was either a cold or Covid, both of which most certainly are circulating.

Could you save £2 a month ready for next year?

As someone else said, there are also Moms in relationships where the men are useless so would still have to struggle and women in financially abusive relationships where they don't have access to money.

I think they should be offered a free vaccine. It’s pretty impossible to care for a young child when you have flu. People always say single mums need to build a support network etc but getting someone to look after your child for 4 or more days/nights when people have work and other commitments is quite a big ask.

It would be fairly easy to identify single mums who receive universal credit and if they’re sending a letter in October about the warm homes discount they could just add in a flu voucher.

Ask your rheumatologist if you can have it on the grounds of lupus. If you're on any medication for it that could cause any immunosuppression you should be able to get one on the NHS.

Superdrug have it for under £10 if you have a health and beauty card. ASDA it is £13.

£13 is £1.10 per month for a year.

Was it definitely flu you had, or just a bad cold? With flu you literally can't get out of bed. Sympathy either way though, it's tough being poorly and still needing to look after your children.