Residents eligible for the flu vaccine are being urged to get it by Montgomeryshire AM, Russell George.
Mr George is backing the annual NHS Wales Beat Flu campaign, which encourages everyone eligible for flu vaccination to get protected
Vaccination is the single best way to protect yourself and others against flu, a potentially life-threatening illness, and the Powys AM is urging all eligible people to get vaccinated for free.
This year, the free vaccine is being made more widely available and will now include all primary school children and pre-schoolers aged two and three.
For the first time, the vaccine is also being offered to staff with regular client contact working in residential care and nursing homes this winter.
Mr George said: “The Beat Flu campaign is underway throughout Wales and I'm delighted to be able to support the campaign again this year.
"The campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of flu vaccines to individuals most at risk of serious complications from influenza, and my message to them is to make sure it’s at the top of your to-do list this autumn.
“Last year in Wales, only half of those in at-risk groups under the age of 65 took up their free NHS flu vaccination and we really need to increase the numbers of people being vaccinated."
Dr Richard Roberts, Head of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme at Public Health Wales, added: “Each year new flu viruses circulate, causing many people to be ill and some to face life-threatening complications. And flu vaccines are changed each year to try to match the flu viruses circulating in order to give the best protection.
“Last winter there were 2,680 patients with confirmed flu in hospitals – 192 in intensive care units. As well as the impact on these individuals, this places an additional pressure on the health service at a busy time of year.
“People with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems are over ten times more likely to suffer severe outcomes from influenza and we want to see even more people protected this year.”
