Schools should offer yearly Covid jab instead of flu

Long covid is not a big risk on a population level.
The covid vaccine is a much bigger risk than the virus to healthy adults and children.
The covid virus has mutated so much that its now basically a bad cold for most people, unlike flu which still kills hundreds of thousands globally each year.
Can I ask why you are still testing for covid (assuming that you are to know that your kids brought it home rather than a cold)

I agree OP. They should be offered both. However as you can see here, the amount of cray cray anti vax sentiment this would unleash would make it not worth it

One of my mine has type one diabetes and his medical team actually advised against the covid jab due to the potential long list of complications the jab can give. He got type one diabetes after a bout of mild covid too. So if they are concerned about the potential deadly risks of a covid jab… says it all.

You know better than all the experts who advise on this ?

Righto. 🙄

Thank you - a voice of reason floating in a sea of denial.

Everyone who catches covid is at risk. Vaccine side effects are minimal in comparison to the long term impacts of the virus.

Actual science vs social media:

www.panaccindex.info/p/what-covid-19-does-to-the-body-seventh

Clinically vulnerable people will continue to be offered a vaccine:

ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/06/26/whos-eligible-for-the-2025-covid-19-vaccine-or-autumn-booster/

I’m more concerned about the people who were shielding for months but no longer getting vaccinated tbh. Your children are young and strong and appear to have survived their 4 episodes of Covid. I’m quite sure it will kill my clinicaly extremely vulnerable relative who at 72 will no longer be offered this vaccine.

The children don't get 'flu jabs'.

It's a nasal spray.

There isn't a nasal spray for covid.

They’ve stopped offering Covid boosters to the young and healthy pop as the vaccine doesn’t stop spread and there is good levels of ‘immunity’ (specifically not unwell enough to need hospitalisation) in the population.

People are not logical at all, nobody had a cold for quite a long time, because covid was the only virus that exists

The covid vaccines arent recommended for healthy children. Plus, it doesn't stop people becoming infected anyway so what is the point?

Do you not understand the reason behind yearly flu vaccinations and just think they must be ineffective?
The same reason for annual flu vaccines applies to covid vaccines.

Agreed - I hate when people say “oh well if you could so much as lift your head off the pillow there’s no way it could be flu!”

Most people aren’t tested when they have a virus, so people just have this incorrect logic of “the time I was very ill I assume it was flu, and I’m now not very ill so I’ll assume it is not flu”.

They should offer both vaccines and both are serious illnesses. for those worried about covid vaccine side effects there is a vaccination called novavax which has an extremely low risk of side effects as low or lower than the standard vaccines that children get. Also covid isn't just a cold in children, it can cause a lot of long term health issues even though the acute phase is mostly mild, and each additional infection increases the risk. Putting your fingers in your ears and pretending it isn't happening isn't going to make it go away. https://www.newsweek.com/why-are-so-many-children-getting-long-covid-2080950
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1100158

If it works why hell you need it every year? Don't get a yearly bcg

Flu is only less common because of the jab. It knocks you out for two weeks and six weeks to really recover.

This isn't true at all. Flu can be mild, or even asymptomatic. People use flu to describe severity of symptoms but that's not how it works.

Fwiw I doubt the uptake of covid vaccines would be very high. It was only a minority who took it even when first offered.

Is there a nasal flu vaccination?

My husband went for his flu jab and was offered the covid jab on Saturday so took it. I privately thought he made the wrong decision as he is always more ill from the vaccine than covid and sure enough he was really ill yesterday.

Absolutely!

I don’t agree with the OP but I’m not sure that’s a reasonable criticism. We don’t make it parents’ responsibility to pay for any other vaccines.

The uk vaccination programme is about heard immunity and a large chunk of it is delivered through nursing teams coming into schools already.

Op is suggesting they switch the flu vaccine already done in schools to covid.

Personally i think uptake is pretty low of flu vaccine in schools and I think covid would be even lower.

Flu is only less common because of the jab. It knocks you out for two weeks and six weeks to really recover. It kills loads of people. And can also cause long term impacts in a few.

In children who are repeatedly exposed to a range of corona viruses (common cold) Covid is just another cold virus. The vaccine also gives less protection.

And when are parents responsible for anything?

Ideally the immunisation team would be able to offer Covid vaccination in the same session (parents can always decline if that's their personal choice).

However, there are practical constraints. The flu vaccine is (for most children) an individually packaged nasal spray, whereas the Covid vaccine is an injection from a multi-use vial which has strict storage requirements.

Not a chance!