Flu Vaccination Programme
Devon School Aged Immunisation Team will be visiting all Primary Schools this term to deliver the flu vaccination programme. This will be offered to all children from reception to year 6.
Following the last two years of infection control measures being in place it is expected that this year there will be a high level of flu virus circulating in our communities.
Learn more about how to protect your child against flu with information from the NHS leaflet PDF.
A vaccination is given each year, which corresponds to the strain of flu identified as the most prevalent, and is delivered as a nasal spray – a small spray in each nostril. The vaccine is ‘live’, containing weakened virus’ that will help your child build immunity and support them to fight off infection. It is absorbed quickly in the nose and any not absorbed becomes deactivated.
How can I consent for my child to receive their immunisation?
Your child’s school will receive an email to circulate to all parents approximately 3 weeks prior to the arranged visit date to the school, this will contain a link to the electronic consent form where there is a section on frequently asked questions that you can access to aid your decision prior to completing the consent form.
If you do not wish your child to receive the nasal flu vaccination, we would appreciate you completing the form for our records, and your child will not be included in the session at school.
You will be provided with a consent closing date on your email. It is really important that you respond prior to this date, as late consents cannot be accepted. This allows our Immunisation Team to review all consents received, and liaise with the school to plan safely for the session.
If your child receives the vaccination by another provider in between you providing consent and the school session date it is really important you let us know to prevent a duplicate vaccination being given.
If your child is not able to have the live flu vaccine, we are able to deliver the inactivated injection in one of our community clinics.
Once your child has been vaccinated you will receive an automated email response, which contains post-immunisation advice for your information.
We would value your feedback on the service delivered, and a link is provided by email on receipt of consent, and with the post immunisation advice email, and we would appreciate your comments.
If you have any difficulty with completion of the consent, or wish to discuss any other aspect of the vaccination with our team, they can be accessed using our SPA number on 0300 247 0082 between 08.30 and 16.30, Monday – Friday. Alternatively you can email the team on vcl.immunisations@nhs.net.
Our lines can get extremely busy during flu season, and we hope that many of your questions can be answered using the FAQ section on the consent link. If you do still have questions we will be happy to support.
Have your say
Help us improve the local information on this website and give us feedback about any contacts you have had with our service by completing the Devon Public Health Nursing feedback form.
