Supply shortfall forces NHS to cancel children's flu vaccinations
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A UK-wide issue affecting the supply of the child 'flu vaccine - the nasal spray called Fluenz Tetra has forced NHS Grampian to issue a statement explaining why vaccination will not be offered to all school age children.
The failure to receive all of the scheduled supply of the vaccine during November lead to the announcement.
A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: "The Scottish Government has advised us to prioritise our remaining existing stock of the vaccine to children aged between two to five years who are not yet in school and those aged five-18 years with underlying health conditions as these children are at greatest risk from the flu virus and this is the course of action we will follow.
"Unfortunately, this means we will be unable to offer vaccination to all pupils in the vaccination sessions scheduled to take place in primary schools from November to early December.
"Those scheduled sessions will still take place but vaccination will only be offered to those pupils who have underlying health conditions.
"Our school nurse teams are working to bring vaccination sessions for these children forward if possible.
"If your child has an underlying health condition they will receive the vaccine no later than the date already confirmed by their school."
She continued: "We are currently working to find alternative ways in which we can make vaccinations available to pupils whose inoculation has been postponed, once the supply of vaccine resumes.
"We will advise these arrangements to schools and parents as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to parents, pupils and primary school staff.
"We would advise parents that GP practices will only vaccinate those children aged two to five years old or those children aged five-18 with an underlying health condition."
