Over four million children to be offered flu vaccination, PHE confirms

Public Health England (PHE) has announced that it is extending the flue programme to include children in Year 3.

The Stay Well This Winter campaign (SWTW) launches today (12 October 2016) with the biggest ever flu vaccination programme in England for children. This year the programme is being extended to those in school Year 3, offering more than four million children protection against flu – around 600,000 more than last year.

The scheme will help reduce the spread of this infection to the most vulnerable in the community, particularly younger children, the elderly and those with long-term conditions.

With the school vaccination programme set to get underway, children aged 2, 3 and 4 can now get the vaccination from their GP.

Research shows that children are most likely to spread the flu to others, so targeting them helps protect the wider community too. It is estimated that several million people get the flu each winter, leading to more than 2,000 NHS intensive care admissions across the UK last year.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer at PHE, commented: “Flu can be much more dangerous for children than many parents realise, and when children get flu, they tend to spread it around the whole family. Every year, thousands of children have flu and it is not uncommon for them to be admitted to hospital. The single best way to help protect your children, and the rest of the family, is to get them vaccinated. For most, it is just a quick, easy and painless nasal spray.”