Flu vaccine

Protect your child against this year’s flu strains

Type of vaccine

Single inactivated flu vaccine

Protects against

Flu

Primary course

1 dose

Boosters

None

Suitable for ages

From 9 months upwards

What is the flu vaccine?

Vaccinating against the flu poses a particular problem. The flu virus can mutate rapidly, meaning that different types of flu are likely to predominate every year.

A one-off vaccination can only protect against specific strains, so it is unable to offer long-term protection.

Every February, the World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts which flu strains are most likely to cause problems during the following winter. Most, but not all, governments follow the WHO’s advice when formulating their flu vaccines.

How does the flu vaccine work?

Each year, vaccines are made using the whole, or parts, of three killed flu viruses.

The flu vaccine is usually given to children as a nasal spray (i.e. sprayed into the nose) rather than as an injection. The nasal spray contains live forms of the flu virus that have been weakened (attenuated). This works by stimulating the immune system to recognise and fight against certain strains of flu without causing the flu in healthy people.

The nasal flu vaccine should not be given to children who are clinically immunosuppressed. For those children, an inactivated flu vaccine injection may be more suitable, which is what we offer at BabyJabs.

As flu vaccines are only designed to help protect against one season’s flu, yearly vaccinations are required to maintain protection. Natural protection to flu, after an attack, declines rapidly because the virus mutates.

People are most likely to catch flu between October and March.

Who should have the flu vaccine?

In 2013, the UK government announced that all children in England and Wales aged between two and 17 years of age were to be offered yearly flu vaccines. This is because children are known “super-spreaders” of viruses like the flu, so the aim is to vaccinate them to prevent them from passing the flu to more vulnerable members of society.

Flu vaccine frequently asked questions

The flu vaccine works better in some years than others. In children aged two to 17, the flu vaccine prevented 66% of flu cases in 2016-17, 27% of flu cases in 2017-18, 49% of flu cases in 2018-19 and 45% of flu cases in 2019-20 (see research by Public Health England on the effectiveness of flu vaccines in the 2016-17 season, 2017-2018 season, 2018-19 season and 2019-20 season).

Like all vaccines, the flu vaccine can cause side effects. For the majority of people, they’re generally mild and uncommon. The side effects listed below are those reported in children aged three to 17.

When seen, side effects generally happen in the first three days after the vaccination and go away by themselves in one to three days after they start.

The most common side effects (reported by more than one in 10 people) are:

  • Headache
  • Muscular pain
  • Generally feeling well

Some side effects are more common in children from nine to 17 years of age:

  • Shivering
  • Reactions at the injection site: pain, swelling, redness, hardness

Common reactions (may affect up to one in 10 people):

  • Fever
  • Bruising at the injection site

Uncommon reactions (may affect up to one in 100 people) in children from three to eight years of age:

  • Temporary reduction in the number of certain types of particles in the blood called platelets; a low number of these can result in excessive bruising or bleeding (transient thrombocytopaenia): only seen in one child of 3 years of age
  • Moaning, restlessness
  • Dizziness
  • Diarrhoea
  • Vomiting
  • Upper abdominal pain
  • Joint pain
  • Fatigue
  • Warmth at the injection site

Uncommon reactions (may affect up to one in 100 people) in children from nine to 17 years of age:

  • Diarrhoea
  • Itching at the injection site

Other side effects, from very common to rare, have been reported in children but vary in likelihood depending on their age. The full breakdown of these occurrences can be found in the Patient Information Leaflet for this vaccine.

The flu vaccine injection can usually be given to children who are immunosuppressed. However, it may not be suitable if your child is allergic to any of the active substances or other ingredients in the formulation.

You should let us know if your child has a poor immune response due to immunodeficiency or taking medications that affect the immune system, or if they have a bleeding problem or bruise easily.

If your child has an illness with a high or moderate temperature or an acute illness, the vaccination should be postponed until after they have recovered.

If, for any reason, your child needs a blood test within a few days following a flu vaccination, please tell your doctor. This is because false positive blood test results have been observed in a few patients who had been recently vaccinated.

The injectable flu vaccine that we offer at BabyJabs can be given in the upper arm or thigh.

The flu vaccine typically provides protection for 12 months. As explained above, this is because flu strains change each year.

No, a skin test is not required.

The flu vaccine injection can be given to children six months of age and above, as well as adolescents and adults. As flu is most prevalent between October and March, having your child vaccinated at the start of the autumn each year is recommended.

The UK government now recommends that all children between two and 17-years-old are vaccinated every year. Children can receive the vaccine once they are older than six months old if there is a clinical need.

Usually, your child will only need one dose per year. However, if they are younger than nine years old and have not been previously vaccinated against flu, a second dose may be given after at least four weeks.

Yes

Yes, the flu vaccine may be given at the same time as other vaccines. However, it is recommended that the injection is given in a separate limb to any other vaccines given at the same time.

A nasal spray flu vaccine is available to all children aged two to 17 through the NHS each year. This is not the same as a quadrivalent flu vaccine injection offered at BabyJabs, which may be more suitable for immunosuppressed children.

Ingredients of the flu vaccine

Name: Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine

Age: Suitable from 9 months onwards

Manufacturer: Sanofi Pasteur

Active ingredients: Influenza virus (inactivated, split) of the following strains: A/Victoria/4897/2022 (H1N1)pdm09-like strain (A/Victoria/4897/2022, IVR-238); A/Darwin/9/2021 (H3N2)-like strain (A/Darwin/9/2021, IVR-228); B/Austria/1359417/2021-like strain (B/Michigan/01/2021, wild type); B/Phuket/3073/2013-like strain (B/Phuket/3073/2013, wild type)

Other ingredients: A buffer solution containing sodium chloride, potassium chloride, disodium phosphate dihydrate, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, and water for injections. Some components such as eggs (ovalbumin, chicken proteins), neomycin, formaldehyde or octoxinol9 may be present in very small amounts

Mercury content: Nil

Aluminium content: Nil

Contains porcine gelatin?: No

Contains dairy products?: No

Licensed for use in the UK

Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine patient information leaflet: Click to view

Aftercare

We’ll give you detailed aftercare advice for your child after their vaccination(s), including what to do in the event of any side effects.

Your child may experience some redness, tenderness and/or swelling at the injection site, so it’s helpful to expect this. These side effects should self-resolve within a few days.

You can download our Patient Aftercare leaflet here.

If your child is unwell outside of clinic hours, please call 111 for advice or go to A&E if they need urgent medical attention.

Individual advice about the flu vaccination

Need advice about whether your child should have the flu vaccine? The BabyJabs team is here to listen and answer your questions to help you decide.