It’s time to book your child’s nasal spray flu vaccine

Your child is eligible for the nasal spray flu vaccine this winter if they were aged 2 or 3 years old on 01 September 2023.

To book your child in, please contact the surgery. We may be able to offer you a Saturday appointment locally if this is more convenient for you on:

Saturday 18 November The Lakes Medical Centre, 21 Chorley Road, Swinton, Manchester M27 4AF
Saturday 25 November Little Hulton Health Centre, Longshaw Drive, Little Hulton, Manchester M28 0BB

If you’ve already had a letter from your child’s nursery and returned the consent form for them to have it done at nursery, that’s great. You don’t need to do anything else.

Why your child should have their free nasal spray flu vaccine

Flu is a serious disease and puts many thousands of children and adults in hospital every winter.

Children can catch and spread flu very easily so the flu vaccine is designed to not only stop children from getting very unwell with flu but also stop them from spreading flu to other members of your family.

As doctors and nurses with children ourselves, we know nobody wants to see their child so poorly with the symptoms of flu as it can be a very nasty illness for them with fever, dry cough, sore throat, aching joints and extreme tiredness.

The nasal spray flu vaccine

The nasal spray is quick, painless and has an excellent safety record. A spray is squirted up each nostril and the vaccine will still work even if your child gets a runny nose, sneezes or blows their nose.

If your child has a long-term health condition that makes them at higher risk from flu, they’ll be offered a flu vaccine injection instead of the nasal spray.

Common myths about flu and the flu vaccine

  • “Flu is just like a bad cold so my child doesn’t need a flu vaccine”

Flu is a serious disease that can infect anyone and sometimes cause serious complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia. It can easily be passed on to others who are at risk from complications too such as grandparents or other vulnerable household members. The nasal spray flu vaccine gives children the best protection against flu and helps protect those around them too.

  • “My child had the vaccine before and still got the flu anyway so it doesn’t work”

No vaccine is 100% effective, and it can take up to two weeks for the flu vaccine to work. Any child who catches flu after vaccination is less likely to be seriously ill or be admitted to hospital.

Please talk to our team if you have any questions or concerns about the vaccine when you call to book and we’ll be happy to answer them. For more information about children’s flu vaccines, visit the NHS.uk website.