Parent information

Childhood Flu Vaccine

It’s not too late for your child to get a free flu vaccine.

Flu can be dangerous and cause serious illness. In recent weeks, London has seen an increase in hospitalisations of children and young people becoming extremely ill from flu.

Protect your child and others with the free childhood flu vaccine.

• Vaccinating children protects them against serious illness such as pneumonia

• It also stops them from passing on flu to older relatives and other vulnerable groups, who can suffer from the complications of flu.

There is still time to get a free flu vaccine for your child this flu season which continues until the end of March:

• Children aged 2 or 3 years: Any child aged 2 or 3 on 31 August 2024 (which includes those who may have turned 4 since then), can still get a flu vaccine at their GP surgery.

• School aged children (Reception to Year 11): Any primary or secondary school children (reception to Year 11) will usually get the flu vaccine at school. If they missed this, they should book an appointment via Vaccination UK’s community catch-up clinics across Barnet.

• Children with certain long-term conditions: Any child aged 6 months to 17 years who have a long-term health condition can receive the flu vaccine at your GP surgery or a community catch up clinic.  Please contact their GP surgery if you are unsure regarding eligibility.

The nasal flu vaccine prompts “natural” immunity without making your child ill: 

• The nasal flu vaccine contains a live but weakened version of the flu virus. This prompts the immune system to produce its own protection against the influenza virus without giving the child flu or making them ill. 

The nasal flu vaccine protects your child against illness from multiple strains of flu for the rest of the flu season: 

• The nasal flu vaccine contains several different strains of weakened flu virus. This helps protect the child from catching any of these flu strains for the rest of the flu season.

• In contrast, children who catch the flu “naturally” may catch flu a second time in the season. This is because they have only developed immunity to the single strain of flu that they are infected with and can still get infected with other strains of the flu. 

Learn more about the child flu vaccine.

Ugbad Elmi
Public Health Office - Health Protection
Public Health Communities, Adults and Health Directorate
London Borough of Barnet