Four out of five parents in Ireland are reported to have vaccinated their children against the flu. A new survey shows that about 80 percent of parents have vaccinated their children.
More than 1,300 parents were surveyed about getting the nasal vaccine for children between the ages of two and 12. The Baby Dock Club and MummyPages online parenting communities found that 78% of children have already been vaccinated. However, the survey found that 53 per cent of them were unaware of the complications of the flu virus in children.
At the same time, TCD’s immunology professor and mother of three, Rachel McLaughlin said that the importance of giving the flu vaccine to boost the immunity of children is great and most parents are thinking about how to keep their children safe in the midst of the Covid epidemic.
Rachel says that flu is more likely to seriously affect children because it can cause pneumonia, bronchitis, and painful ear infections. She also said that this can lead to death and, therefore, it is very important for children to be vaccinated during this Covid period.
According to the survey, 94 percent of parents were aware of the need to be vaccinated against winter flu.
In the wake of the Covid pandemic, HSE has purchased six lakh doses to make the flu vaccine available to all children.
The vaccine is free, painless and has no side effects, so children should not be afraid, says Dublin – based GP Dr. Eleanor Galvin said.
Eleanor said children are twice as likely to catch the flu as adults because schools are open in lockdowns, so children must be vaccinated.
At the same time, Laura Erskine, a parenting expert at the Babydock Club, said that children may have difficulty understanding what the disease is because of the similarities between the symptoms of Covid and the flu.