Thousands of school children to be offered flu vaccination

Now parents are being urged to take up the offer of protecting their child in this way.

The vaccinations, which are given via a nasal spray, will be carried out by nurses who work for Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), and will start mid September.

The initiative is part of the National Flu Vaccination Programme and the vaccine is being offered to healthy children as well as those with a health condition from reception to year 11.

Janette Paine, RDaSH’s, programme lead for school age immunisations, said: “We will start delivering flu vaccines in schools across Doncaster in the next few weeks. This year we will be offering approximately 46,000 children from reception age through to Year 11 a flu vaccine. Flu can be a very unpleasant illness in children, causing fever, extreme tiredness, aching muscles and joints, stuffy nose, dry cough, and sore throat. Complications of flu include acute bronchitis, painful ear infections and pneumonia. Having a vaccine will not only protect your child it will also reduce the chance of vulnerable adults in families getting flu.”

The nurses will also be providing community clinic sessions across Doncaster using a Health Bus for those children who miss their school sessions and for those that do not attend mainstream education.

Any parents or guardians wanting further information about the flu immunisation programme for children in Doncaster should contact the School Age Immunisation Team on 03000 211841 or 03000 211840.

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Note to editors

Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) provides a range of mental health, learning disability, drug and alcohol services and community health services across Rotherham, Doncaster and North Lincolnshire.

Our NHS Talking Therapy services are available for adults experiencing anxiety, depression, low mood, or stress. We offer a free, confidential service. Residents can self-refer via https://talkingtherapies.rdash.nhs.uk for an assessment or call Doncaster 03000 211556, Rotherham 03000 215108 or North Lincolnshire 03000 216165. 

The Trust has a Clinical and Organisational Strategy which runs until 2028. In there are the trust’s 28 promises to patients, staff and the communities it serves as well as it’s values and vision ‘ Nurturing the power in our communities.’. You can view it here https://www.rdash.nhs.uk/documents/rdash-clinical-and-organisational-strategy-2023-to-2028/ in a number of languages and Easy Read.  

The Trust has its own charity called Your Hearts and Minds which raises funds through donations, activities and legacies to fund a wide range of projects across our services in Rotherham, Doncaster, and North Lincolnshire. Every day, our work impacts service users, their families and friends, and the staff who care for them. The charity funds ideas and projects, above and beyond routine NHS funding to enable outstanding care to improve their lives and those in the wider community.

For further information, please contact the communications team, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust,

Tel: 03000 212100 or email [email protected]