Schools closing for flu

[Busydoingsomething]

A school near me has partially closed due to staff shortages. Another has cancelled all performances. Some of the children will have been vaccinated but I suspect, lots of the staff won’t have been. I was listening to 2 people today, on the train, discussing whether school staff should be vaccinated, to prevent the staff being off and impacting on education. Wondering if this would be a good move.

I work in a school (support staff) and I’ve had Covid in September and now have Flu. The Flu is worse. It’s honestly making me think I have to just find another job as I can’t do this again next winter, either that or pay for both Covid and Flu jabs. I wish the school/government would pay for them for school staff. I’ve now had two weeks off sick this autumn/winter-it’s not good and just heaps pressure onto other staff members.

Do you have a link to the study, please?

Many many countries require teachers (and other professions) to be fully vaccinated, and have done for a long time. Nothing catastrophic has happened as a result.

this^

why do people think the vaccination stops people getting flu? It helps prevent, it helps recovery if caught - but vaccination doesn't equal not becoming ill with flu

My DP paid for his as well this year. In previous years his school covered the cost but they just don't have the budget these days.

It should be free to all key workers.

Same here. I think we had 35-40 in our class, with one teacher, no classroom assistants, and yes, poorly kids were taken to the general office for the receptionist to look after.

Literally no one cares about school staff. I paid for my flu jab through Superdrug this year. We were issued a voucher last year and by the time we got it there were no vaccines left and all the pharmacies we could attend were not local to our town and would require travelling to get it.
We are trapped in rooms with coughing kids so maybe don’t blame us for things. It’s the kids that spread it.

We're still "during COVID" (there was a big wave in October) but at least people are no longer trying to pretend that children don't catch or spread COVID. But still a complete failure to take any airborne mitigations in schools, worsened by an insistence on 100% attendance even if sick, and a focus on hand washing/surface cleaning despite the fact that it does nothing to stop us inhaling viruses.

As a result our children are getting repeatedly infected with a virus that is known to cause immune dysregulation, brain damage, neurodevelopmental delays, increase risk of diabetes and auto immune diseases, and damage to different organs.

As a parent, keeping a close eye on the research on COVID effects, I don't want my child to repeatedly be subject to infection with a novel virus because the UKHSA and NHS can't get their act together to admit COVID is airborne. Their refusal to admit this airborne mode means we are missing the opportunity to take airborne precautions to reduce transmission (which would also reduce transmission of flu). For Dept of Education it would be more economical to invest in air purifiers for each classroom than endlessly needing supply teachers, not to mention the reduction in public health costs.

Vaccines for flu and COVID should be available to everyone. Their benefits are clear.

I feel the same. I must find a new job next year. I can’t do another winter in school. It’s horrendous.

Same here. I think we had 35-40 in our class, with one teacher, no classroom assistants, and yes, poorly kids were taken to the general office for the receptionist to look after.

Presumably the schools who are closing have more children poorly than one office receptionist can look aftrt and if there's no teacher to teach the rest of the class and schools can't afford supply, they are stuck. We have been told there is a blanket ban on supple this year due to our deficit budget.

Years ago in those halcyon days people reminisce about where there were classes of 40 with no TA and everything was terribly rose-tinted, there was not the high level of pupils with significant needs in mainstream that there are now.

We have multiple pupils in YR-4 with ASD who are in nappies, non-verbal, needing hoists for toileting, very physical etc who need very high levels of care. If the members of staff with them aren't in, it's not safe for those pupils to be unsupported.

It's very hard. No private vaccines at all in my town, I've been looking since the start of November. Those I know who've had the vaccine are in vulnerable groups or living with vulnerable people. I had an appointment booked for early Jan as a back up but that has now been cancelled (by the pharmacy).
It seems that there are only certain parts of the country where you can pop to your local pharmacy and get one.

What story have you heard?

The vaccine is highly effective in children, cutting hospital admissions by about 70% below that for unvaccinated children.

It is also effective for older people, but only cutting admissions by around 35%

I hope you are not attempting to suggest that this is no benefit.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/flu-vaccine-providing-important-protection-despite-new-subclade

I’m aware of a pharmacy local to me who have free slots, if you’re in the SW or willing to drive, I can PM you?

Flu might be worse during the actual infection but COVID is worse in terms of long term harm's on your body.

For a start COVID disregulates your immune system leaving you more susceptible to other viral, bacterial and fungal infections. There's a reason it seems like everyone seems to be more sick all the time. This is reflected in the data, a large jump in UK hospital visits for many many many diseases and illnesses across all ages and also more long term disability (clear in US and UK data).

I won't list in detail all the other effects of COVID but it includes brain damage (that's what brain fog is), increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and it is likely oncogenic. The more time goes past the more evidence is emerging that it's nothing like the flu or a cold in terms of its effects on our bodies.

Schools are a primary point of infection and should be a key priority for airborne mitigations, as should hospitals. The benefits would be huge but sadly the government refuses to admit COVID is airborne, so it can continue to promote hand washing and sneezing in your elbow, rather than take proper infection control measures.

Seriously? No accountability whatsoever from parents? Kids don't spread germs? Unbelievable.

We’re also glossing over the factors that make transmission more likely. The UK is appallingly overcrowded. The mild, wet constantly raining weather means viruses spread like wildfire as a good freeze helps to kill them off.

Heres my 37 year NHS experience.
We would get an email that vaccination was being offered in blah blah room, and to arrange an appointment.

Come the day, problems arise because many staff cannot leave the ward as they need cover. This is particularly necessary for areas like NICU, ICU, theatres, and HDU where patients are on breathing equipment and cannot be left unsupervised.
Also, wards are hectic now, and unpredictable emergencies and urgent nursing care are required almost nonstop.

I would often miss my flu vaccine because I was physically unable to leave the ward area. not because I couldnt be arsed to get one

But probably severe enough to not be up to teaching 30 overexcited children all day.

The problem with this is the information that it doesn’t give us. We can believe that there is a benefit to overall society from vaccines without believing that it will have a benefit to us as individuals, or our children.

New data published today as a pre-print by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows the 2025/26 vaccine is currently 70 to 75% effective at preventing hospital attendance in children aged 2 to 17 years and 30 to 40% effective in adults.

Fine. But where is the information that tells us how many healthy children with no other complications are admitted to hospital in the first place? A 70-75% rate sounds impressive but if the rate of healthy children admitted to hospital is only 1-2% and the rate of children who suffer long term consequences is even lower, then the benefit of medicating individual children is negligible.

A 30-40% rate of effectiveness in keeping adults out of hospital is telling me that taking the vaccine won’t do much to stop me getting flu, and if I do get flu I will still have a 60-70% chance of ending up in hospital.

That page also tells us that this vaccine only has benefits alongside good hygiene. So we still have a high chance of avoiding hospital just by being hygienic.

If the government wants to persuade those of us who are reluctant to have vaccines then it needs to make sense and be honest and say that they want us to vaccinate ourselves and our children to benefit other people, and prevent them looking bad in the press because the NHS is falling apart.

I just had a look at the age distribution for flu this year, and it is much much higher for school age children.

Kids are germ magnets, so they will be spreading it among themselves, and if you spend all day with hordes of the blighters, you are probably going to catch it if you do not have good immunity.

Source, figure 5, www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-season/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-report-11-december-2025-week-50

Covid demonstrated our societies can deal with a pandemic. People have forgotten the images from Italy's surgeries with people collapsing and dying. They have forgotten the panic when the UK government allowed European football matches when the virus transmission was obvious to medical staff, and the death toll coming from overseas.

You have forgotten your anger against your own PM when he didn't put the isolation measures against the virus entering the UK, while some of you still thought the whole thing was a hoax when he was in intensive care.

Flu virus kills and the best protection is having the vaccine every year. I honestly don't care if adults end up feeling like crap for weeks or are hospitalised. I care for children and how the virus affects schools and society as a whole when it's so easy to prevent it.

@celestialmoods

"If the government wants to persuade those of us who are reluctant to have vaccines ....."

No doubt opinions differ, but if you don't want to be persuaded, it might be wasted effort to try.

A 30-40% rate of effectiveness in keeping adults out of hospital is telling me that taking the vaccine won’t do much to stop me getting flu, and if I do get flu I will still have a 60-70% chance of ending up in hospital.

😳 honestly the ‘logic’ of some posters on here is so bad, I truly wonder how they manage everyday life.

Anecdote isn’t data.
I work in the NHS flu programme. The virus has not escaped the vaccine. People will develop different levels of immunity from the vaccine and nobody denies it’s not a great vaccine with only 40% efficacy ish in adults. However, it’s all we’ve got.

@celestialmoods

"That page also tells us that this vaccine only has benefits alongside good hygiene. So we still have a high chance of avoiding hospital just by being hygienic."

It doesn't say that.