Children aged between six months and five years of age in Herefordshire are to be vaccinated against swine flu.
Health Secretary Andy Burnham’s announcement this week, (Tues, Dec 8), means around 10,000 youngsters in the county will receive the H1N1 vaccine.
This age group was identified as the next priority group for the vaccine because they are more likely to need hospital treatment if they catch swine flu.
The decision is supported by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation – the UK’s independent advisory board on vaccines.
Although the roll-out of the vaccination programme has been hampered because a national agreement between NHS employers and the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners’ Committee could not be found, NHS Herefordshire is negotiating through the Local Medical Council to reach an agreement with local GPs.
“Failure to reach a national agreement is disappointing, but we’re hoping to be in a position to roll out the vaccination programme by around Christmas,” said Dr Akeem Ali, Herefordshire’s director of public health.
“We have a number of options, but our preferred choice would be to vaccinate through our local GPs.
“Parents of children in the priority group will receive information about the swine flu vaccination programme as soon as these plans have been finalised,” he added.