Letters will start to go out over the next few weeks telling people in the West Midlands when they will receive swine flu jabs.

South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust was today the first in the region to confirm it was launching its vaccination programme.

Other PCTs in the region are expected to follow suit, offering vulnerable people and frontline medical staff their jab over the autumn.

John Wicks, flu director for South Staffordshire PCT, said: “Swine flu is generally mild for healthy people, but for pregnant women and those with health problems it can be more serious.

“The vaccine has had to pass stringent tests before being granted a licence by the European Medicines Agency and this means that we are very confident that the new vaccine is low risk.

“Just as soon as we receive supplies of the vaccine in South Staffordshire we will write directly to people within the key groups, prioritising the most vulnerable first, letting them know how and where they can receive their vaccination.”