The Public Health Agency (PHA) recommends that everyone should consider taking a vitamin D supplement this autumn and winter to help keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that everyone needs to stay healthy, and we get it from three main sources – food, sunlight and supplements.
Our bodies get some vitamin D from a healthy balanced diet that includes foods like oily fish (such as salmon, mackerel, trout, kippers and sardines), eggs, meat and dairy products, along with foods that have been fortified with vitamin D such as breakfast cereal.
Winter is coming and so are the respiratory illnesses that circulate during this time of the year so the message from the Public Health Agency (PHA) is don’t let your protection fade and get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines if eligible.
The life-saving vaccination programme, which will help protect the community against deadly viruses ahead of winter, commences on Monday 7 October. It will see flu and COVID-19 vaccines offered to over a million people in Northern Ireland before the end of the year, starting with those in care homes, who are some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
A new Living Well campaign – ‘Looking after your sexual health’ – has been launched in community pharmacies across Northern Ireland, helping to raise awareness of the importance of practising good sexual health.
Living Well is offered in over 500 pharmacies across Northern Ireland and provides information and advice on public health issues. It is delivered in partnership with the Public Health Agency (PHA), Community Pharmacy NI (CPNI), and the Department of Health (DoH).
The Public Health Agency (PHA), Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and Hospitality Ulster welcomed Nick Hewer, President of RCSLT, to Brain Injury Matters to celebrate with all those who contributed to the resources designed for the recent Swallow Aware campaign.
As the new life-saving Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccination programme aimed at protecting newborns and older adults launches in Northern Ireland the Public Health Agency (PHA) is encouraging those eligible to get vaccinated when invited.
RSV is a common and highly infectious respiratory virus that affects the breathing system, particularly in young children and older adults. RSV infections often lead to mild cold-like symptoms, but in some cases, especially in infants and individuals with compromised immune systems, it can cause severe respiratory issues and hospitalisation.