Every child will get flu vaccine
ALL British children are to be given the annual flu vaccination in a move that could save thousands of lives.
The scheme, which is expected to be rolled out in 2014, will see all children aged two to 17 given the vaccine
through a nasal spray.
Even if just 30 per cent take up the offer, experts say there will be 11,000 fewer hospitalisations and 2,000 fewer
deaths each year.
The announcement comes after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said the annual winter
flu protection programme could slash the infection rate by 40 per cent if all children were included.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has accepted the recommendation.
Currently, only over-65s, pregnant women and people with a serious medical condition, including children, are eligible for a seasonal flu jab.
We accept the advice that rolling out a wider programme could further protect children
Britain will be the first country to offer a free vaccine to healthy children, at an expected cost of £100million a year.
Other people can pay for a vaccine injection, often available at a pharmacy or even supermarket.
Healthy children are among those least likely to develop complications from flu.
But their close contact with each other means they are the most likely to transmit the virus to one another and other vulnerable people.
Chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said:
“Severe winter flu and its complications can make people really ill and can kill, particularly those who are weak and frail, which is why we already offer vaccinations to the most at-risk groups.
“We accept the advice that rolling out a wider programme could further protect children, with even a modest take-up helping to protect our most vulnerable.”