Spreading awareness: My experiences working on the Get Winter Strong campaign

We recently launched our #GetWinterStrong campaign, encouraging those eligible to come forward for their vaccinations and get protected against serious illness this winter. Mel Darvill, Senior External Affairs Manager at UKHSA, shares her experiences of working on this campaign and filming with her son to show how quick and easy the nasal spray flu vaccine for children is.

I have been working in public sector communications since I was 16 when I took on a summer job as an administrative officer. And for the past two years, I've been working in the Communications Team at UKHSA. I love my job, where I get to engage and collaborate with stakeholders on our shared priorities in health protection.

My role in the Get Winter Strong campaign

This is my second year working on the annual winter vaccination campaign - 'Get Winter Strong' - led by UKHSA alongside the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.

My role is essentially helping stakeholders - including those in local government, royal colleges and charities - to make sure they have the communication support they need to raise awareness of the vaccine offer with their audiences.

Our team produces toolkits, meets with stakeholders to share information about the campaign, work with clinicians at UKHSA to answer questions and provide targeted messaging. We also identify opportunities to promote the campaign.

The importance of vaccination

I'm a mum of two and have always been proud and grateful that children in the UK can get free vaccines to protect them against serious disease, which isn't the case in many parts of the world.

Vaccination helps to give children like mine the best start in life. Immunisation is an incredible form of health intervention, protecting them while they are tiny but also helping them continue leading healthy lives into adulthood.

In the UK, children under 5 years have one of the highest rates of hospital admissions due to flu. The flu vaccine helps protect against flu and serious flu-related complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

At UKHSA I work on many of our vaccination campaigns throughout the year, and often on incident responses where we see worrying rises in case numbers following a decline in children getting their routine immunisations.

The power of communications

I have always believed in the power of communication to give the public the information they need, helping them to make informed decisions. And this means communications should always be clear, inclusive and accessible.

I also believe people's personal experiences are one of the most powerful communication tools we have. It's one thing to describe the flu vaccine as "quick, easy and painless" in writing, but what will really help explain this to parents is seeing it themselves.

Volunteering to be filmed

At UKHSA, we're always on the lookout for case studies and people willing to share their own stories about why vaccination matters to them. At a campaign planning meeting recently, the team were keen to have the opportunity to film a nasal flu vaccine to visually demonstrate what happens at an appointment.

I had already scheduled my 3-year-old son's flu vaccine with the GP practice, so I volunteered to film the experience and share the footage.

I contacted my GP practice to ask for permission to film, and they were fantastically receptive and very happy to support the campaign in this way.

Lights, camera, action

When the day came, I made sure I had a tripod ready, my phone fully charged and borrowed my husband's phone for additional footage. I also helped prepare my son by explaining that the flu vaccine is just a quick spray up the nose and his 5-year-old sister (who had already had hers at school) told him it is "just a tickle".

The filming itself was simple as it was just setting up the tripod to document our experiences. The nasal flu vaccine itself was, of course, quick, easy and painless, and the nurse was brilliant!

The next day, I clipped the footage together and shared it with my colleagues in our Digital Engagement team to finesse it into the final product. It was then ready to 'go live' and be posted to the UKHSA social media channels. I was on my non-working day when it got posted, so I got to see my own video on my feed as an average 'scroller'!

Protection this winter

Most importantly, my son's immunity against flu is now topped up and I can rest assured that he is protected from serious illness this winter.

We live with someone who is undergoing chemotherapy as part of their cancer treatment and has a weakened immune system, so this also gives me peace of mind that our wider family is kept as safe and healthy as they can be.

I am very grateful to all the scientists and clinicians who develop these vaccines and bring them to the public.

Professional development

I was really pleased to have this opportunity to support the campaign with my own video, not only because I am so passionate about health protection but also because it gave me the opportunity to develop new creative skills and do something a little different from my day-to-day role.

I look forward to continuing my work on our various campaigns and communications in the months to come.

Annual winter vaccination campaign - what you need to know

The flu and COVID-19 vaccination programmes help to provide important protection to those eligible and their families over winter. This helps prevent serious illness and death and helps to minimise hospitalisations during busy winter months.

Approximately 30 million people across the country will be offered a flu vaccine and approximately 22 million a COVID-19 vaccination this winter season.

The 'Get Winter Strong' annual marketing campaign aims to engage with priority cohorts with lower vaccine take up rates and encouraging them to come forward for vaccination this year.

More information

Your guide to who’s eligible for the 2024 flu vaccine – UK Health Security Agency

A parent’s guide to keeping kids healthy this school year – UK Health Security Agency

Winter vaccinations and winter health: https://www.nhs.uk/wintervaccinations

Campaign Resource Centre: Get Vaccinated. Get Winter Strong. | Campaigns | Campaign Resource Centre