Articles | Call for flu jab for under-fives

Call for flu jab for under-fives

All children under-five should be given the flu jab, the Health Protection Agency has said.

Immunising pre-schoolers could cut some types of infection by up to 70 per cent, the agency said.

Young people are more likely to spread germs because they have a lower immunity and have close contact with other family members.

In the US, flu vaccination is already offered for children aged six months to five years.

Currently the elderly and people with high-risk conditions, such as asthma, are offered a jab every year in the UK.

The latest study showed that if more children had the jab, the greater was the protection to the population at large.