Bury takes lead in national flu vaccination pilot

Primary school children in Bury will be among the first in the country to be offered the new nasal flu vaccine.

Bury is one of just seven areas to take part in a national pilot scheme which is targeted at healthy children aged 4-11 in primary schools.

The vaccine will be offered to 18,500 children across all primary schools in Bury, from October to January. The vaccine will not only protect children against flu this winter but also help to reduce the spread of the virus to many other people including family and friends. 

Children who are eligible for the vaccination will receive a nasal spray vaccine called Fluenz*, approved by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, instead of a traditional needle vaccination. This vaccine has been used for more than ten years across the USA and has been proven safe for use.

Parents and guardians of eligible children will receive a letter and a consent form to complete and return via schools.

The pilot scheme will test the practicalities of giving the vaccine to a large number of children in a school setting. The results will inform a planned roll-out to all children aged 2-16 next year as part of the national seasonal flu programme.

Diane Halton, public health service manager, said: “Flu is highly contagious and can have serious and sometimes life-threatening consequences. This vaccine offers the best way to protect children from flu, as well as reducing the risk of spreading the virus to others.”

Councillor Rishi Shori, Bury Council’s cabinet member for health, said: “We all want to keep our children safe and this is a quick and pain-free way of protecting our families and those we love from potentially serious illness. Children get a lot of flu and they are also big transmitters of the flu virus. We estimate that this could prevent 30 deaths a year.”

Bury’s campaign is being delivered in schools by IntraHealth who have a specialist immunisation team with many years experience of delivering healthcare.

Sue Daws, lead immunisation nurse at IntraHealth, said: “We are delighted to be working in Bury with the primary schools on this pilot. It gives a great opportunity to be working on the practicalities of delivering such a large and comprehensive programme.”

Children who are in a clinical ‘at risk’ group and those aged 2-3 will be offered flu vaccination by their GP practice as part of the annual seasonal flu programme. However, those children in primary school who also fall within clinical ‘at risk’ groups, will be able to choose whether to receive their vaccine in school or at their GP practice.

For more information on the children’s flu vaccination pilot, visit

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/child-flu-vaccine.aspx

ENDS

Press release issued: 4 October 2013.