Tesco has today started providing free flu vaccinations from its 342 branches across the UK and a private service for people who are not eligible.

The free jabs are available to over-65s and other eligible groups including people aged 18 and over who have a long-term condition such as diabetes, heart and circulatory disease, some cancers or a weakened immune system.

For patients who are not eligible, Tesco is offering a private flu jab to people aged 12 and over for £13. The private service runs until March 31 next year.

Tesco’s superintendent pharmacist Adrian Price said: “We want to make getting your jab as easy as doing the weekly shop. More than ever, it will be important to keep your family safe and well from flu. You will reduce the risk of catching flu and passing it on to older or more vulnerable family members.”

Citing research published two years ago in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Tesco said the flu vaccination cuts the risk of a heart attack by 27 per cent and death by 25 per cent in people with heart and circulatory diseases.

The multiple also pointed to British Heart Foundation data that revealed there around 6,600 excess deaths from heart and circulatory diseases in the UK during the winter of 2019-20, with flu a likely contributory factor.