Get your flu vaccination this year. Here's why.
As we head into the flu season, getting a flu vaccine is important to protect ourselves and our loved ones from flu-related infections and complications. This is true even for the fittest and healthiest among us.
To get the full benefits of the flu vaccine, you should get vaccinated as soon as the flu vaccine becomes available.
We should all get a flu vaccine. But who needs it most?
Every year, flu vaccination prevents illnesses, medical visits, hospitalisations, and even deaths. Flu vaccination also is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions. To get the full benefits of the flu vaccine, you should get vaccinated before the start of the flu season. It's important to remember that it takes about two weeks after getting vaccinated for your body to build up immunity to the flu virus, so it's best to get vaccinated as early as possible. Flu vaccines are highly recommended for people most at risk of serious flu-related illness, including:
- Children aged six months to five years.
- People aged 65 or over.
- People who have HIV.
- People who are pregnant or postpartum (usually, the first six weeks after childbirth) - the flu vaccine is safe to have while breastfeeding.
- People living in care facilities (old-age homes, or chronic care and rehabilitation institutions).
- People who have a chronic health condition (like asthma, heart or kidney disease, diabetes and so on).
Where to get your flu vaccine?
Call your GP to find out if they administer flu vaccines or visit a pharmacy near you who is a designated service provider (DSP) to get your flu vaccine administered at the Discovery Health Rate. You can visit any of these pharmacies:
Please note: We will pay for the flu vaccine administration costs from your available day-to-day benefits, where applicable. To learn more about your cover for the flu vaccine, click here. Certain participating pharmacies administer the flu vaccine without the additional dispensing and administration fees.
How am I covered?
You are covered for the cost of one seasonal flu vaccine in full, from the Screening and Prevention Benefit every year, if you are considered to be at high risk for severe flu illness. Learn more about the Screening and Prevention Benefit here. The cost of your flu vaccine will, therefore, not affect your Medical Savings Account (MSA) if you have one. For members on your health plan who are not considered to be at high risk, we will pay the cost of the flu vaccine from your available day-to-day benefits. Note that if the healthcare provider charges for administering the vaccine, we will pay for the flu administration costs from available day-to-day benefits, if applicable.