Children under five to get swine flu jab as death toll rises to 39

Published on Thursday 19 November 2009 21:55

HEALTHY children under the age of five are to be given the swine flu jab.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday that the first under-fives would be offered the injection from mid-December.

It is hoped that there will be enough vaccine to inoculate all 260,000 eligible children in Scotland by the new year.

The health secretary took the step, which was in line with moves elsewhere in the UK, yesterday as the Scottish swine flu death toll reached 39.

The minister sent her condolences to the family of the latest victim, who was an adult from the NHS Lothian area with an underlying health condition.

At the moment, vaccination is limited to people in priority groups, which does include young children with asthma or diabetes.

But, over the coming weeks, the programme will be rolled out to children with no underlying health issues, aged over six months and under five.

The UK-wide policy was officially confirmed by the Scottish Government ahead of a similar announcement in England. Ms Sturgeon said: "Negotiations have started to deliver the vaccine through GP surgeries. Young children will be offered the vaccine as soon as GPs complete the vaccination of the priority groups.

"We anticipate this will happen during December, although completion of this phase of the campaign is not expected until mid-January.

"Parents of children who are in the age group should wait to be contacted to go to their local GP surgery."

The decision was taken after ministers took independent scientific advice.

NHS figures show that children under 16 are the age group most likely to be admitted to hospital with swine flu, and 21 per cent of deaths in England have been among under-14s.

Ms Sturgeon was quick to reassure parents that the vast majority of children who get the illness suffer only mild symptoms. But she said: "We do want to ensure young children are fully protected from the virus."

Unpaid carers who are responsible for elderly or disabled people should be in the next phase of the programme.

Ms Sturgeon said: "We intend to discuss this advice with carers' organisations and consider how we can identify the carers involved."

She said 43,000 front-line staff in Scotland had already taken the vaccine. Further details on uptake will be published from next week.

She said 715,500 doses of vaccine had been received in Scotland – equal to 55 per cent of the total required for priority groups.

Despite yesterday's death, the number of people contracting swine flu in Scotland has dropped slightly in the past week, health officials said yesterday. About 21,200 people caught swine flu in Scotland, down from about 21,500 in the previous seven days.