Protect yourself with a free flu jab – living with hep C puts you at greater risk

If you are living with hepatitis C, protect yourself with a free flu vaccine provided as part of the NHS’s ‘Stay Well this Winter’ campaign.
For most healthy people, flu is an unpleasant but usually self-limiting disease with a short recovery. However, people with an underlying health condition are far more likely than a healthy adult to be admitted to hospital with complications, and are 11 times more likely to die from the flu than individuals who have no other underlying health condition.
People living with chronic liver disease are at particular risk of severe illness if they catch flu, because liver disease can affect their immune system, making it more difficult to fight off infection. People living with liver disease are 48 times more likely to die if they develop flu than healthy individuals.  
Flu can also make the effects of an existing condition worse and makes complications like pneumonia more likely.
Flu vaccination remains the best protection we have against the influenza virus.
You can ask to have your free NHS flu jab at your GP surgery, your local pharmacy offering the service, or your midwifery service if they offer it for pregnant women. You can view more information on the vaccination programme here.