A nasal flu vaccination for children in school years one and two is being rolled-out across the region for the first ever time.

The school health immunisation team at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust is preparing to help 34,000 children with the vaccinations following successful pilot schemes across the country by Public Health England.

The flu vaccine for children is given as a single dose of nasal spray squirted up each nostril. It is needle free, painless and absorbed very quickly and it will still work even if a child has a runny nose, sneezes or blows their nose straight after being vaccinated.

Jill Sharpe, clinical lead for school nursing, said: “The biggest advantage of the nasal vaccinations is that children are protected from flu which helps to reduce the risk of spreading the infection to friends and family members.

“Our team will be visiting more than 400 schools in Hertfordshire and children in school years one and two will be sent home with an information leaflet and a consent form for parents to sign – a vaccination cannot be administered until a consent form has been signed and returned to the school.”

Marlyn Cowan, school nursing immunisation lead, said: “Flu can be a very unpleasant illness in children lasting for several days and causing fever, stuffy nose, dry cough, sore throat, aching muscles and joints and extreme tiredness.

“There are very few side-affects to the vaccine, the main one being a runny or blocked nose which could last a few days.”

School nurses aim to begin vaccinating from Monday, October 12.