No. You cannot get influenza from the vaccine. The Flu vaccine is made up of dead flu viruses. Since they aren’t live, you can’t catch the flu from them. When you get the vaccine, your body learns what the flu looks like, so it can fight the illness. It takes about 2 weeks for your body to be ready to fight.
The Flu Vaccination is available most days during the week and no appointment is necessary.
We’ll ask you to stick around for 20 minutes afterwards to make sure you don’t have any unwanted reactions from the injection.
We also offers flu shots off-site for groups. Our pharmacists can take flu shots on the road to go to rest homes, offices, and schools. If you run a business, care facility or other organisation and want to minimise sick days during winter, get in touch to organise a visit from our pharmacists. Can you afford not to protect your staff this winter? The flu is highly contagious and effects unto 20% of New Zealanders every year. Companies loose millions of dollars a year due to staff illness so be proactive! .
Shingles Vaccine Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox (varicella-zoster). After your chickenpox blisters heal, the virus that caused them remains in your body and is dormant. The virus may be there for many years and not cause a problem. Sometimes however the virus may become active again. So, anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of developing shingles. In fact approximately 1 in 3 people will experience shingles in their lifetime. For some people shingles is more than just a painful blistering rash. 1 in 4 people will develop complications, the most common being long-term nerve pain that can last for months, even years, after the rash has healed. If you are 50 years of age or older talk to one of our Pharmacists, who are now able to provide a vaccine that helps prevent shingles*
Meningococcal Vaccine Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that causes two very serious illnesses, meningitis (an infection of the membranes that cover the brain) and septicaemia (blood poisoning). Diagnosing and treating meningococcal disease is not easy. The current vaccines available do not protect against all meningococcal strains, but they do provide protection against up to half of the disease in New Zealand, for up to 3 to 5 years. It can affect anyone - but it is more common in children under the age of 5, teenagers, and young adults. Students in their first year of tertiary education living in hostel accommodation may also be at higher risk. Those traveling internationally to areas of risk are encouraged to have the vaccine. A vaccine that protects against 4 strains of meningococcal disease is now available for people 16 years of age and over from Pharmacists*.
Whooping Cough Vaccine Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that cannot only be life threatening to babies but can also cause prolonged illness in adults. It causes severe bouts of coughing and is easily transmitted. The disease is most infectious in the first couple of weeks, when symptoms are like a normal cold. Whooping cough continues to be infectious 3-4 weeks after the cough starts, unless you are treated with antibiotics. Many babies catch whooping cough from their immediate family including older siblings or parents - often before they are old enough to be fully immunised. Our Pharmacists are now able to provide the whooping cough vaccine* to adults 18 years and older.
