HSE urges parents to ensure children under 12 get vaccinated against flu

The HSE has launched the Children’s flu vaccine campaign which is aimed at ensuring children under 12 years of age receive the vaccine without charge.

Children aged from two to 12 years will be offered the flu vaccine at their GP’s clinic, or a pharmacy.

The vaccine can take the form of a simple spray administered up a child’s nose.

The HSE said it was particularly important for health services during the Covid-19 pandemic that children get vaccinated and prevent the spread of the flu to others, for example their brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents.

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If enough children are vaccinated against flu, fewer children and adults will need to see their doctor or need treatment in hospital because of flu, a spokesperson said.

Symptoms of flu in children include a high temperature, muscle pains, headache and extreme tiredness . They may also have a dry cough and sore throat. It may be difficult to tell the symptoms of flu from symptoms of Covid-19.

Children carry the flu virus in their system longer than adults do, and children can spread the flu virus easily to other children and to vulnerable people around them.

Children are more likely than adults to get severe complications of flu. Over the last 10 years in Ireland 4,750 children need to be admitted to hospital because of complications of flu.

Of these, 183 then had to go to intensive care and 41 died. Children with chronic health conditions are most at risk of the serious complications of flu.

Dr Colm Henry, chief clinical officer with the HSE said the flu vaccine for children “is a very safe vaccine and has been given to children in the US since 2003 and in the UK since 2013. The flu vaccine helps your child’s immune system to produce antibodies that fight infection, and it will not result in your child getting the flu. If your child has had the flu vaccine and they come into contact with flu virus, these antibodies attack the virus and stop children from getting sick.”