The autumn flu vaccination programme has begun today (1 September), with school immunisation teams offering vaccination in some nurseries as part of an effort to protect more children.
Those eligible for a flu vaccination this year include expectant mums and children aged two to 16 years, or six months to 18 years for those in clinical risk groups.
School immunisation teams in ‘some areas’ will be offering flu vaccines to two- and three-year-old children in nurseries this year, which is ‘expected to roll out more widely’, according to NHS England.
It comes as the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that doctors and pharmacists will be able to prescribe flu antiviral medicines all year round under new plans to ease winter pressures.
Restrictions meaning certain flu medicines cannot be prescribed outside the usual flu season will be removed, which the DHSC hopes will help reduce winter pressures and allow patients to access medicines earlier.
This will mean that clinicians will be able to prescribe antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) and zanamivir (Relenza®) outside the flu season.
Primary care minister Stephen Kinnock said: ‘Flu can strike all year round, so it doesn’t make sense to restrict doctors and pharmacists from taking action to protect the most vulnerable in their communities.
‘That’s why, as well as starting the flu vaccination programme today, we are also removing the need for clinicians to have to ask for permission to prescribe what their patients need.
‘It is exactly the type of change we wanted to see when we launched the Red Tape Challenge to bulldoze bureaucracy and prioritise patients over paperwork.’
It added that while the number of flu outbreaks between April and September were relatively low, that the potential outcomes are ‘no less severe’ and that removing the barriers to prescribing will strengthen preparation for winter.
Chicken pox vaccinations
It follows the news that GP practices will offer chickenpox vaccines from January, as part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule.
The combined vaccine offered will be measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV).
Mr Kinnock said: ‘We’re giving parents the power to protect their children from chickenpox and its serious complications, while keeping them in nursery or the classroom where they belong and preventing parents from scrambling for childcare or having to miss work.
‘This vaccine puts children’s health first and gives working families the support they deserve.’
The final eligibility criteria for children will be set out in clinical guidance which will detail which age groups will receive the vaccine and when.
Last week it was revealed that around 300,000 more people will become eligible for shingles vaccination from this month (September).
Those aged 18-49 who have severely weakened immune systems, such as those with leukaemia or lymphoma or those who are undergoing chemotherapy, will be able to access the vaccine from their GP practice.
The UKHSA previously warned that measles cases could surge this September as the new school term begins.
