Parents urged to vaccinate children as flu cases rise
Parents are being urged to get their children vaccinated against flu during half term as the NHS warns of rising cases of the disease.
Health officials say the flu season has started early and the latest data for England shows cases and hospitalizations are rising.
NHS England said many school children will have already received the vaccine at school, but there are still options for those who have not received the vaccine, including pop-up clinics.
While flu vaccination can be given to school-age children, those with certain health problems and children aged 2-3 in general practitioners’ offices, preschool-age children can also be taken to pharmacies for vaccination.
For most children, the vaccine is offered as a nasal spray rather than an injection.
NHS England’s weekly flu and Covid surveillance report stated that there was an increase in flu activity “especially among children”.
England’s chief nursing officer, Duncan Burton, said the emergence of flu earlier this year was worrying and the increase among children was “alarming”.
“Flu can spread like wildfire in schools and really bother kids,” he said.
“The virus changes every year, so vaccination remains the best way to protect your child against serious disease.”
He urged parents to make sure their children are vaccinated at school or find the nearest clinic.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Burton said temporary clinics had been set up in places such as bowling alleys and fire stations, adding that the vaccine was “quick, easy and safe”.
“I don’t think we’ve reached the peak yet,” Dr Fari Ahmad told BBC Breakfast of seeing cases.
“With the flu, it’s a battle we have every year. The flu is unpredictable, it still kills people, and we’re trying to get enough people vaccinated every year so that when a big surge comes, we’re not vastly wiped out,” he said.
Dr Ahmad said vaccinating a sufficient number of school-age children meant this surge could be improved because “they are spreaders”.
“It will be great for the kids individually, but it will also be better for all of us,” he said.
NHS England said more than 10 million vaccines were delivered in the latest campaign, including nearly 1.5 million school-age children and more than 300,000 eligible two- and three-year-olds.
Free vaccines are available for people over 65, those with certain long-term health conditions, those who are pregnant, those living in a nursing home, those who are the primary caregiver for an elderly or disabled person, or those who live with someone who has a compromised immune system.
