PARENTS of young kids are being urged to use the half-term break to catch up on their flu vaccinations . Families are also being asked to make sure their children have had all their measles , mumps and rubella ( MMR ) vaccinations. The warning comes as the UK faces a " tripledemic " of flu, Covid and respiratory syncytial virus ( RSV ) this winter.
If parents missed the in-school flu vaccinations, they can be booked through GP surgeries or at pharmacies, using the NHS website. Kate Langford, chief medical officer at NHS Kent and Medway, said: “Flu can be a very unpleasant illness in children, causing fever, stuffy nose, dry cough, sore throat, aching muscles and joints and extreme tiredness. “It is important that parents make sure children are protected as they can easily spread the illness among their friends and family.
” Read more on vaccines Dr Anjan Ghosh, Kent County Council director of public health, added: “School holidays are a really good time to catch children up on any vaccinations they’ve missed. "There’s lots of ways to book and local centres to attend so we hope parents and carers can find an option that fits in with busy family life." Children aged two and three are usually given the flu vaccine through a quick and painless spray up the nose.
But anyone who cannot have porcine gelatine in medical products is offered an injection instead. Most read in Health The first MMR dose is usually given at 12 months old, while the second jab is administered at.