The NHS National Booking System has opened for all eligible individuals to book their winter flu and COVID-19 vaccinations, with appointments starting from Wednesday 1 October 2025.

Flu and COVID-19 spread more easily in winter when we spend more time together indoors and can cause serious illness. It is important to top up your protection, even if you have had a vaccine or have been ill with flu or COVID-19 before, as immunity fades over time and viruses change each year.

Flu occurs every year, usually in the winter, which is why it’s sometimes called seasonal flu. It’s highly infectious with symptoms that come on very quickly. Colds are much less serious and usually start gradually with a stuffy or runny nose and a sore throat.

If you are vaccinated and catch flu or COVID-19 this winter, you are likely to have milder symptoms and recover faster, reducing your risk of being hospitalised.

The winter vaccine programme is focussed on those at greatest risk of getting seriously ill. If you are eligible for any seasonal vaccination such as flu, COVID-19 or RSV, the NHS will usually let you know when you can book an appointment. Speak to your GP practice if you have not been contacted, but think you are eligible.  

Who is eligible for the flu vaccine this year? 

From 1 October 2025, most eligible people can get the flu vaccine including:

• everyone aged 65 years and over 
• individuals aged 18 to under 65 with certain long-term health conditions 
• care home residents 
• carers in receipt of carer's allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person 
• those living with people who are immunocompromised 
• frontline health and social care workers can get a flu vaccine through their employer

Who should have the COVID-19 vaccine?

You can get the winter COVID-19 vaccine if you:

• are aged 75 or over (including those who will be 75 by 31 January 2026)
• are aged 6 months to 74 years and have a weakened immune system because of a health condition or treatment
• live in a care home for older adults

The NHS website contains further information on eligibility, but if you're unsure whether you're able to have a free vaccination you can consult your GP, practice nurse, or pharmacist. If you’re pregnant you can also consult your midwife. 

For more information on winter vaccines and how to book, you can visit the NHS website.

Which services matter most to you?

Whether it’s better roads, improvements to parks, support for carers or helping people who become homeless, there are services in Coventry that are more important to different people.

Councils across the country are battling rising prices and increasing demands on their services and Coventry is no different. This adds to the pressure on the 700 services we deliver every year.

We cannot do everything we would like to, but we can make sure that we give everyone the opportunity to have a say in how we build our budget for 2026 to 2027.

That’s why we want to get feedback from you, about where to focus our spending.

We want your views about the things that concern you and your family; to help us understand where we should focus resources as we work to improve quality of life across our city.

We have put together a survey, to help us understand your views and ensure they are considered in our future financial plans.

If you can spend a few minutes to respond to us, we would love to get your thoughts. You will have to be quick though, as the survey closes on 1 October 2025.

Carer's Trust Heart of England are delighted to announce that we will once again be hosting our annual Carer Awards Ceremony this November.

The Carer Awards is an opportunity for the local community to come together to celebrate the selfless work of not only carers but also the businesses, educational organisations and fundraisers that have gone above and beyond to help support carers and those they care for. Please remember that you can nominate individuals and organisations from both Coventry and Warwickshire.

We are excited to reveal our award categories for this years ceremony; you can take a look on our website for further details and to  submit your nominations. The categories range from Young Carer, Carer of the year, Carer Friendly Employer and Carer Friendly School or College of the Year, amongst others.

The window to nominate closes at 10am on Friday 3 October. We will be confirming date, time and location for the ceremony, shortly.

Bridgit Care recognises the complex challenges that unpaid carers face and their online platform is specifically designed to support carers throughout their caring journey, offering resources for personal well-being, employment, and financial guidance. Bridgit also connects carers with local support networks, services, and events, ensuring that they always have a community to rely on, which is why Coventry City Council has commissioned Bridgit Care to support carers in the city.  

Alzheimer's Society Coventry - Carer information sessions were recently nominated at the Dementia Care Awards - dementia friendly community project award which took place in June 2025 at the Hilton, London Bankside.

The carer information’s sessions are person centred topics which help support carers, the key benefits of the information sessions include:

• enabling carers to have increased knowledge of dementia
• providing carers with practical information that they can use in coping with living with dementia day-to-day
• help carers to feel better informed and less isolated
• empowering carers to access support services and financial benefits and entitlements
• enabling carers to plan with and for the person they care for, now and in the future

The sessions are facilitated by Tanya Bogle a Dementia adviser Coventry and although they did not win, it's a huge achievement. Many congratulations!

Holbrooks Library has a new home and it is now a dementia friendly library! A quiet and relaxing space to read, use the free unlimited wi-fi, log on to a library PC or borrow a book using the self-service machine. You'll find them inside the Dementia Partnership Hub on Everdon Road, Coventry CV6 4DT. The new opening hours are 8.30am to 3.45pm Monday to Friday. Please pop along!

The housebound library service is free and available to any person who lives within the boundary of Coventry and has a disability which makes them housebound, so they are unable to get to a library. 

If this is you, or someone you know, you could receive a monthly collection of items. The items are selected from the shelves of a community library, based on your preferences, and delivered to your home on a monthly basis. The items can be books in larger print, and audio books on CD. 

While we try to target those most in need, you do not have to be totally housebound in order to receive the service - for example, many people can get to a library by some means but cannot carry the books they want home.

For more information, visit our housebound library services.

Get trusted health information and view your health information in the NHS app. 

NHS England is collaborating with libraries to improve access to online health services. This initiative aims to build on existing health literacy programmes and increase digital health inclusion.  

Libraries will support people to use the NHS App and NHS.uk. 

This course aims to raise awareness and understanding of how the caring role can impact on many aspects of your life. The course looks at ways you can look after yourself as well as continuing to support and promote the independence of the person you care for.

Learning outcomes:

• to increase awareness of the roles and responsibilities of being a Carer in the UK and to look at how these roles affect us
• to consider and develop some techniques for coping and helping ourselves as well as those we care for
• to look at your rights as a Carer and places to seek additional support  

Aimed at: anyone who is currently caring for a friend or family member and is experiencing increased stress.

Course tutors: staff from Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust and Heart of England Carers Trust.

When: Tuesday 4 November 2025 from 1pm to 3pm online.

Course duration: 2-hour session.