Flu Vaccination advice from high school

[askingalways]

This week we have received an email from the high school 'offering guidance' on sickness absences. As you can imagine it's full of lots of helpful advice eg asking us not to keep kids off with the sniffles. This has made me cross considering there hasn't been hand soap in some of the girls toilets so far this week & children who have vomited at school and told teachers have not been left in class because 'they feel ok now'.

But the bit I'm interested in is that it advises the children should be vaccinated against flu and to contact the GP surgery.

Surely the GP's can't just give a flu vaccine to everyone's teenager and this is a really irresponsible suggestion from the school?

Immunising children is actually far more cost effective than immunising elderly people. The vast majority of the former produce a robust response and develop immunity, whereas less than half of the latter will. Children (admittedly, more particularly primary age ones) are also “super spreaders”, infecting more other people per case than infected adults do.
Primary age kids are already covered by the NHS for immunisation, and I suppose it’s not unreasonable for this high school to suggest any left over vaccine from the current flu season could usefully he given to their teenage pupils.

GPs will only give the flu vaccine to primary school children who missed it at school and to older children with underlying health issues. If this doesn’t apply you have to take them to a pharmacy that gives it to children. I take mine to Boots for the flu jab now they’ve left primary school.