Flu and whooping cough jabs - is this normal?

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I just had these done at my local GP as I'm 24 weeks pregnant. The nurse did the jabs so unbelievably fast, I was shocked! I rolled up my sleeve and within about a second she had swooped on me with the needle for the flu, just stuck it straight in my arm, then did the whooping cough equally quickly in the other arm. I was in and out in one minute tops and it was totally painless. She wasn't in a rush because the surgery was empty.

One thing I didn't realize is that the jabs don't have to go into a vein, so that must speed things up, but still.

Is this normal?!

Yes.

Yep. They do dozens of jabs a day so it doesn't take them long!

Yep normal. They go into the muscle and are about 0.5ml each so take a second to administer. But they should have gone through a quick assessment and given you post immunisation advice as well. Which takes about 2-3 mins really.

Yes, but she should have checked your name and date of birth, asked about allergies and any previous reactions, as well as telling you about the vaccines and what to expect afterwards.

I’m a practice nurse and have given thousands and thousands of injections in my career. The actual injection part of the procedure takes me probably 3 seconds per arm! It’s the other bits that take a few minutes, longer if the patient has questions.

She didn't ask me any questions apart from how far along I was. Then that was it! I can't really complain as it was totally painless. But a bit of warning that the needle was coming wouldn't have gone amiss!

But they should have gone through a quick assessment and given you post immunisation advice as well.

Is there any post immunization advice I need to know?

No vaccines go into a vein, they all go into the muscle at the top your arm blood tests and fluids etc are vein based!

It’s fab it didn’t hurt, I never find them particularly painful, often depends on which of the two nurses I see at the doctors!

You may get some mild side effects. Probably akin to a mild cold. Possibly headache or a minor temperature. But you more likely will get nothing. I’ve had the mild cold thing after the flu jab (I had mine at separate times) but wouldn’t have known I’d had whooping cough! NHS website should list the possible side effects of both!

Quite normal.

I never got asked questions just how far along I was but that was just her generally asking.. I was also in and out within a minute it's totally normal

I was told not to worry if my arm was painful and/or bruised after both of mine and was advised to apply ice if it was a problem. My flu jab resulted in a sore arm for a few days and quite a big bruise, despite not hurting when it was done but it soon settled. No ill effects at all from the whooping cough jab.