10 January 2023
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
HSE stands up walk-in Flu vaccination clinics at the North Main Street vaccination centre for all Children 2-17 years and urges parents to have children vaccinated against the flu as cases rise in the community
Cork Kerry Community Healthcare has today announced that walk-in flu vaccination clinics for children aged 2-17 years will be available from tomorrow (Wednesday January 11th) at the community vaccination centre at North Main Street, Cork.
File photo of Covid vaccination
This is in response to rising numbers of both flu cases in children as well as the significant number of children who have been hospitalised with flu this winter.
Walk-in clinics for the nasal flu vaccine will be available on:
* Wednesday January 11th, 2pm to 6pm.
* Monday January 16th, 2pm to 6pm
* Wednesday January 18th, 2pm to 6pm.
The clinics will offer nasal flu vaccinations for all children aged 2-17. No appointment is necessary and the vaccine is free of charge.
The vaccine is also available from participating GPs and pharmacists. Parents can find details on pharmacies offering vaccinations in their area using the pharmacy finder tool on hse.ie.
The children’s flu vaccine will be available up until 23rd January. After this date, only children with medical conditions which put them at risk of serious illness from flu will be able to get a vaccine.
The HSE is encouraging parents to avail of this opportunity to vaccinate their children against flu as flu continues to spread and is likely to continue circulating further for a number of weeks.
Dr Aparna Keegan, Specialist in Public Health Medicine and Flu Lead, HSE National Immunisation Office said: “Flu is a serious illness that can be dangerous in children too. We are seeing rising cases of flu in the community so we are encouraging parents of children aged 12-17 to get their children vaccinated to protect them while there is still time.
The nasal spray flu vaccine is a very safe and effective vaccine and helps your child’s immune system produce antibodies that fight infection. It cannot give your child the flu. If your child has had the flu vaccine and they come into contact with flu virus, these antibodies will help them fight the flu and reduce the risk of getting sick or needing to go to hospital.
The vaccination process is a simple nasal spray and is given by spraying the vaccine once into each of the child’s nostrils. Getting the nasal spray flu vaccine is a safe, effective and a pain free way to protect your child from flu this winter.”
While most children who catch flu have mild symptoms, flu can sometimes lead to serious complications such as pneumonia or bronchitis in some children. Children, especially young children, are also more likely than adults to get severe complications of flu.
In Ireland, between 2009 and 2019, the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) reported:
4,750 children needed hospital treatment because of complications of flu
183 of these were admitted to intensive care
41 children died
For further information go to www.hse.ie/flu or call HSELive on 1800 700 700