Each winter thousands of children need to go to hospital for treatment, including intensive care, with children under the age of five years having one of the highest rates of hospital admissions due to flu, warns the NHS
One illness caused 10,000 children to end up in hospital last winter - and NHS leaders are warning that families should take up one crucial way of avoiding it.
The NHS is asking parents to ensure children’s consent forms are completed, and that eligible pre-schoolers are booked in for appointments at the GP practice, to stop the spread of flu this autumn and winter. More than one million children across the region in school years Reception to Year 11 are eligible for the flu vaccine in the form of a nasal spray, delivered in schools by immunisations teams.
By getting vaccinated, children also protect others around them, including babies, grandparents and people with weak immune systems, the health service is reminding parents. If your child has a medical condition that makes them more at risk from flu, such as asthma or cerebral palsy, you can get them vaccinated at the GP practice if you don’t want to wait for the school session, say NHS leaders. Children who can’t have the nasal spray for medical or faith reasons should have an injected flu vaccine instead, also provided free by the NHS.
Side effects of the nasal spray are typically mild if present at all. Children may develop a runny or blocked nose, headache, general tiredness, and some loss of appetite.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Hospital assures staff their concerns 'will be heard' after Lucy Letby trialTrish Armstrong-Child, chief executive of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was speaking after a letter was sent to all Trusts by NHS England following the trial of Lucy Letby
Read more »
Norfolk committee rejects mental health bosses' account of report changesNorfolk's health scrutiny committee rejects NHS bosses' explanation of changes to a critical report.
Read more »
Rishi Sunak's NHS plan 'economically illiterate', says former Tory ministerThe Prime Minister himself admitted that the target, set in January, may be in doubt and blamed striking doctors for making the waiting list worse
Read more »
NHS England: Waiting lists hit record high as 7.6m on hold for routine treatmentBoth the government and NHS England set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April this year, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer - and all waits of more than a year by March 2025.
Read more »
Rishi Sunak's blame game as NHS waiting lists reach a record highThe Prime Minister has chosen to blame continuing industrial action by junior doctors and consultants for the 7.7 million-strong queue for NHS procedures
Read more »