�°������ϲʹ�������

Professor Dame Sally Davies, the government’s chief medical officer, has written a letter to nurseries, urging them to raise awareness of the childhood flu immunisation programme, Nursery World reports.

 

Influenza is a concern every winter, and young children are well-known ‘super-spreaders’ thanks to the number of different age groups they mix with. If parents halt transmission of the infection at the source, it benefits not just the child, but the wider community they interact with.

 

The childhood flu immunisation programme states that all children who will be aged two-, three- and four-years-olds on 31 August are be eligible for a free flu vaccination from their local GP.

 

However, many parents are not aware of this, and Professor Dame Sally Davies has urged nurseries to help publicise the benefits of the programme to parents.

 

“Not only does the flu vaccine help to protect the children themselves, but by reducing the spread of flu it will also help protect family members and others in the community,” she said.

 

“The flu vaccine also promotes a healthy working environment in nurseries and pre-schools by reducing the spread of flu to others including staff.”

 

For more information on the childhood flu immunisation programme, check out our Q&A with Pauline MacDonald – director of the programme at Public Health England – in the September issue of Under 5, or visit .