Five reasons to vaccinate your under-five against flu

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) South West is urging parents of pre-schoolers to get them booked in with their GP for the nasal spray that protects them against flu.

Flu can be a very unpleasant illness in children causing fever, extreme tiredness, aching muscles and joints, stuffy nose, dry cough, and sore throat.

Most children are well enough to go back to nursery or school a week after getting sick with flu but for some it can be life-threatening.

Children aged between six months and two years with a long-term health condition that makes them at higher risk from flu are also eligible.

This includes any child that has ever been admitted overnight to hospital for a lung infection, as well as many children with long term conditions like diabetes.

Primary and secondary school students are also eligible for the nasal spray vaccine at school – make sure you sign the consent form. A vaccination session will be held at schools during the autumn term and the immunisation team will contact you via the school. For two and three-year-olds, you should receive an invitation for your child to have it at their GP surgery. Parents can also contact them directly to book an appointment.

Here are five reasons why your children under five should have the flu vaccine:

Protect your child
Children under the age of 5 years have the highest rate of hospital admissions due to flu. There were 6000 hospital admissions for flu in under 5s last winter. Vaccination cuts the risk of being hospitalised due to flu by around two-thirds. Having the nasal spray or vaccine will also help protect your child against complications such as pneumonia, and painful ear infections.

Protect you, your family, and friends
We all know how quickly pre-schoolers can spread their germs! Vaccinating your child will help reduce the chance of others in your family, who could be at greater risk from flu, such as grandparents or those with long term health conditions, getting flu from your child.

No injection needed
The nasal spray is painless and easy to have. It contains viruses that have been weakened to prevent them from causing flu but will help your child to build up immunity. This means your child will be better able to fight off flu. The vaccine is absorbed really quickly in the nose, so even if your child sneezes immediately after having had the spray, there’s no need to worry that it hasn’t worked.

It’s better than having flu
The nasal spray helps protect against flu, has been given to millions of children in the UK and worldwide and has an excellent safety record. In the last few years, the protection that children get from vaccination has been consistently higher than for adults. The vaccine is updated each year to match the strain of the flu virus. For this reason, we recommend that your child is vaccinated against flu again this year, even if vaccinated last year.

Avoid costs and time off work
Juggling a sick child and work is never fun. Vaccinating your pre-schooler isn't just about safeguarding their health; it's also a smart decision for parents. If your child gets flu, you may have to take time off work or arrange alternative childcare. But when your child stays protected from preventable diseases, it means fewer missed workdays for you. The nasal spray vaccine is free on the NHS.

Professor Dominic Mellon, Deputy Regional Director for UKHSA South West added: “Flu can be more than just an unpleasant illness in children – for some an infection is life-threatening, including kids who are normally very active and healthy. Flu vaccines give vital protection – not just keeping kids well, but also out of hospital. Each winter thousands of children require treatment in hospital for flu or its complications.

“Many of these episodes could be prevented by a simple nasal spray. On top of helping to keep your child healthy, the flu vaccine also helps stop the spread of flu in the community – helping to protect those who are more vulnerable and the elderly such as grandparents.

“When you get the electronic or paper consent form from the NHS school immunisation team, please make sure you return it, so your child doesn’t miss their nasal spray vaccination session. If you have a pre-schooler who was aged 2 or 3 on the 31st of August, you should make an appointment to get their nasal spray vaccination at your GP practice.”

For further information about the flu vaccine, please visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/flu-influenza-vaccine/