Single mums should be offered a free flu jab?

[Journeyintomelody]

This is off the back of a very hard week. I picked up a nasty dose of flu, probably from a baby group. I have a super high pain threshold but when I have a cold I'm utterly useless. I need two or three days to hibernate and recover.

Last week I discovered that you can't do this as a single mum. DD (7.5 months) needed me. So I had to plough on, and it was hard. It's been over a week and I still haven't shaken it off completely, but now DD has it (it's breaking my heart to see her unwell). She has been dosed up with Calpol but is very unsettled. Between the two of us, it is probably going to write off nearly 3 weeks.

AIBU to think that single parents should be offered free flu jabs?

Single mums might be millionaires with nannies or have extended family nearby though right? Whereas a mum in a relationship might have a useless partner or one who works away.

And you'd need a way of registering yourself as a single mum. When the jab costs £20 in the first place. I'd find the money to pay next time.

Sympathy because it's incredibly hard with sickness and kids but I don't think your idea is a good one.

If I was a single mum I'd try to buddy up with other single mums so you can form a support system for times like this.

Hope your baby is better soon. It does get a bit easier when they're bigger.

@Haroldwilson I completely agree with you in your first paragraph. Although that same logic applies to other groups that are offered free vaccines, such as over 65s and pregnant women with millions in the bank.

Maybe a better idea would be to offer free flu jabs to new parents as an opt in scheme. Open to couples or single parents. I doubt everyone who choose to have it. At the moment I can't afford £20 just like that, but having gone through these last couple of weeks I will definitely be making sure I get one next winter!

The flu jab is offered free of charge to vulnerable groups because it saves a fortune over treating the sheer number of NHS patients that would result from this demographic who would need costly treatment. Not because they have been deemed worthy of the help. Everyone else can pay for it.

This. It’s not really about making anyone’s life easier, just about trying to limit strain on the nhs.
Sorry you and your dd have been so unwell, hope your daughter feels better soon.

It is offered free to over 65s as flu can be fatal to older people and lead to hospitalisation due to pneumonia.

£10 at Superdrug - if you get yourself a free loyalty card from them.

I'm sorry you've been so unwell. Hopefully you can put aside £1 a month to get a vaccine next year. I don't think the NHS paying is right in this case.

I think offering it to new parents would make sense as a way to protect newborns. I get it as a carer to a child with autism who is not actually in a higher risk group in terms of flu.

Yanbu. I've always paid for one as I can't risk being ill.
Currently trying to get a covid booster too.

They do offer it to expectant parents - I’m due mine in November. They also offer it to children between 2 and 5, I believe? Definitely 2 and 3 year olds get it free.

I think after that point, it’s a personal decision for the parent, whatever their circumstances.

I’m sorry you’ve been ill.

@ByMerryKoala that's fair enough, I hadn't thought of it that way. It's just a really rubbish situation to be in. Definitely the hardest week I've had as a parent. I have lupus and so always get flare ups following a cold so it really drags on. I should probably stop wallowing. Flu just generally sucks.

I've had flu, and been hospitalised as a result so I understand the reality of having flu but just buy the jab yourself if you're that concerned about getting it again.

And asthmatics..last time I had proper flu, I ended up with a deep chest infection which triggered an asthma episode. I couldn't walk because I couldn't breath for a week. It took two lots of antibiotics, steroids and about 10 weeks to recover. The point of the jab is to avoid people like me needing loads of extra meds and NHS time.

I’m childfree (stating just to make point that this wouldn’t benefit me) but I think single parents should be offered every bit of support they would find helpful. If that includes a flu jab - I support it.

D

I think the cost is likely prohibitive for many of those who might benefit most from having it.

Definitely not. Impractical, divisive and a little ridiculous.

It's £16 at Tesco and apparently £10 at superdrug according to PP. Out of reach for some perhaps but not all.

This. And to reduce DEATH.

to the OP ‘the same can’t be said’ for the groups who currently receive on NHS as there’s high risk it will wipe out the rest of their lives, not just three weeks.

sorry you’re poorly. Put CBeebies on and snuggle under a blanket.

But OP - did you have flu, or did you have a cold? The two are not synonymous, or on a spectrum, and a flu jab is completely ineffective against a cold.

I think it's fantastic that the NHS does offer free vaccines! I understand why people say they don't think it's justified, I absolutely will put money aside to pay for one next time - it's not something I had even considered.

I find it interesting that pregnant women get offered a flu jab, 2 and 3 year olds get a free jab, so do primary school children, however there is no provision for under 2s and new parents. Especially because under 2s may be vulnerable but not yet diagnosed (as too young). Please feel free to correct my flawed thinking!!

You haven’t got flu, you have a cold. It’s miserable and a couple of duvet days would be nice but having to plough on won’t kill you. Flu is debilitating and can be fatal in vulnerable people. A flu jab wouldn’t prevent you getting a cold. You will likely spend the next 5 years with every known germ circulating your system as your new superspreader joins nursery. If you found the cold hard wait until you get norivirus or the winter vomiting bug!! 🤢

I know it's annoying when people say this, but you probably didn't have the flu. It sounds like a heavy cold. When I had flu I couldn't get out of bed for 2 weeks. It took all my effort just to go to the toilet. It took months to feel normal again. There's literally no way I could have taken care of a baby in that first 2 weeks.

The jab doesn't stop you catching colds, just the actual flu (and it wouldn't actually stop you catching it, but hopefully symptoms would be significantly milder).

You might want to think about what help/support you could line up for if you ever had a severe illness, unlikely though it is.

I notice that you frequently interchange flu and a cold, which are very different viruses.

I suspect from your description that you had a cold, so a flu jab wouldn't have prevented it. Also, it would only prevent the strain of flu that is suspected to be most prevalent that year, so not 100%.

I hope you and little one recover soon.

I know lots of people can afford that, my point was not all people can. I understand those aren’t massive costs to many of us, but people experiencing true poverty and hardship don’t have that sort of extra cash and arguably suffer most when unwell. People are feeding 2/3 people for a fiver a week so £10 for a jab would feel like a lot. Those are the people I think would benefit most. X

Omg.