The Western Trust School Nursing Team are urging Derry parents to help protect their children this winter by ensuring they take up the childhood flu vaccination programme which will be offered to all primary school children over the next few months.
The vaccine changes each year to cover the strains which are likely to be prevalent over the course of the flu season, so it’s important that children get immunised annually.
All pre-school children aged two years and over on 1 September 2015, and those in primaries one to seven, will be offered the flu vaccine as part of the programme.
The vaccine will be administered through schools. Younger pre-school children can receive the vaccine from their GP surgeries.
Irene McSorley, Western Trust Team Leader for School Nursing said parents of primary school children should look out for letters and consent forms over the next couple of months as children should be bringing them home in their school bags.
He stressed it was important consent forms were completed, signed and returned to the school promptly so children be protected with the vaccine.
She added: “The School Nursing Team (pictured) will be visiting 178 primary schools across the Trust during the coming months to offer all children in P1 – P7 the Fluenz Tetra® vaccine (nasal spray).
“This will mean that 27,979 pupils will be better protected against flu bringing both health benefits and less time off school.”
For more information about the flu vaccine for 2015/16, visit www.fluawareni.info