Cases of flu among schoolchildren aged 5 to 14 years old are currently twice as high as any other age group, and Lincolnshire parents/guardians are being urged to consent for their child to be vaccinated.
All school-aged children up to and including year 11 are eligible for a free nasal spray flu vaccine, which is quick and painless and delivered in school through the local School Age Immunisations Service, provided by Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust.
“Children can catch and spread flu easily. Flu can be very unpleasant and can cause serious problems for children, such as pneumonia, and for people who are at higher risk of getting seriously ill from flu, such as babies, anyone who’s pregnant and older people,” explains Karen Goy, Lead Nurse for Quality and Risk – Vaccination Programme, NHS Lincolnshire ICB.
“However, vaccinating children usually produces a better immune response with evidence from last year’s flu season showing strong effectiveness for children in England with a 54% reduction in hospitalisations for those aged between 2 and 17 years old, demonstrating the importance of getting children vaccinated.”
Delivery of the flu vaccine in schools started in September and the School Age Immunisations Service will be vaccinating children across Lincolnshire until mid-December. However, it is important that parents/guardians sign and return the consent forms on time.
“Now that children have gone back to school after half-term, many will be due to have their flu vaccination, but this can only happen if their parents/guardians have given consent. In Lincolnshire this can be done digitally on the School Age Immunisations Service website and I urge all parents/guardians to do this if they haven’t already, so their child can have the flu vaccination,” adds Karen.
Running alongside the flu vaccinations is the autumn Covid-19 vaccination campaign, which continues to vaccinate eligible people in considerable numbers. However, over the last week or so there has been a noticeable trend in people failing to attend booked vaccination appointments.
“We understand that things happen and sometimes it’s not possible to keep appointments,” adds Karen. “However, we ask eligible people to book an appointment so that we have an idea of how many vaccines we need, so if you book and don’t attend there’s a chance your vaccine will be wasted.
“So if you know you are not going to be able to make your appointment, please contact whoever you are booked in with – whether that’s your GP practice or, if you’re attending a local vaccination outreach session in the community, the local vaccination team on 01522 301940– and cancel your appointment. If you booked your appointment using the National Booking System you can cancel or change your appointment using the same website – Book, change, or cancel a COVID-19 vaccination appointment online – NHS. It’s no hassle and we would much rather know if you can’t make your appointment.”
Details of local Covid-19 vaccination outreach sessions for eligible adults aged over 18 and also eligible children aged 5-17 can be found by visiting Outreach/pop-up COVID-19 vaccination sessions in the community – Lincolnshire ICB. Please note parents/guardians of children eligible for a Covid-19 vaccination can book an appointment by calling 01522 301980, which is specifically for appointments for under 18s.
For more information on the autumn Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Lincolnshire, visit www.lincolnshire.icb.nhs.uk/grabajab.