Winter is coming so you need to make sure you and your family are safe during the cold weather with your flu jabs.

Did you know residents in Greenwich with long-term health conditions, who are pregnant and children under 10 are all eligible for a free flu jab?

Councillor Averil Lekau, cabinet member for adult social care, health and anti-poverty, said: “Greenwich in partnership with the Greenwich CCG, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and Lewisham and Greenwich Trust, are encouraging everyone in the borough who knows someone who may be ‘at risk’ from flu to tell them how important it is that they get protected."

Flu is not the same as a common cold, and is a highly infectious disease which can lead to serious complications if you have a long-term health condition such as bronchitis, emphysema, diabetes, heart, kidney or liver disease or have suffered a stroke.

Flu on top of health conditions like these can easily develop into something very serious and could land you in hospital.

For eligible children, the flu vaccine is not an injection, just a quick nasal spray.

Children who get the flu have the same symptoms as adults, including fever, chills, aching muscles, headache, stuffy nose, dry cough and sore throat.

Some children develop a very high fever or complications of flu, such as bronchitis or pneumonia and may need hospital treatment.

If you have a child aged two or three, get them vaccinated against flu with the free nasal spray flu vaccine from your GP.

Schoolchildren from reception class through to Year 4 will get their vaccinations through their school.

Pregnancy naturally weakens the body’s immune system and as flu can cause serious complications for you and your baby, pregnant women who get the flu may be less able to fight off infections, increasing the risk of becoming ill.

The flu jab is the safest way to protect you and your baby against flu and you can have it at any stage of pregnancy, however fit and healthy you might feel.

If you are eligible for the flu vaccine, get it now – it’s free because you need it. Contact your GP, pharmacist or midwife to the get the flu jab. Visit www.nhs.uk/staywell for more information.