The changes coming to flu jabs for children

Millions of parents will for the first time this year be able to sign up their children for a flu vaccination without being contacted by the child’s school. NHS chiefs are trying to boost uptake among young people aged 16 and under to stop them from spreading influenza to their grandparents and other relatives over Christmas. Parents of pupils at 14,000 schools across England will get emails and texts directly from a new NHS digital tool known as Mavis (Managing Vaccinations in Schools), where they can give consent for their child to have a vaccination. Shorts The changes mean that parents will no longer need to wait for an email or letter from their child’s school inviting them for the appointment. Nurses will still give the vaccine – normally a nasal spray for youngsters – to pupils at school, but parents will also receive email and text reminders from the Mavis service a week before the planned sessions. And for the first time this year, any child who misses an appointment at school can have the jab or nasal spray at a pharmacy from 1 December. Consent forms are typically sent to parents directly from schools, adding to the burden of paperwork for school staff and families. Just 55 per cent of primary school-age children and less than half of second school pupils get the vaccine each year, and NHS officials are concerned that lower rates fuel circulation of the virus and lead to more infections of elderly relatives over the holiday period. The Mavis consent app was piloted in 2025 but this year it is being used by more schools across England. NHS director of vaccination Caroline Temmink told The i Paper: “It’s really important that school-age children get their vaccinations as soon as possible because going into Christmas, they’ll be seeing older or vulnerable relatives over that period. “That’s why we’ve set out some ambitious targets to increase uptake in schools – and by making it easier for parents to give consent, we want to boost take up and therefore help protect the people who are most vulnerable.” NHS scrambles to shore up vaccine supplies With the new season’s vaccination programme getting under way this month, NHS England is scrambling to shore up supplies after Sanofi, one of the biggest flu jab manufacturers, said it could not supply two million jabs that were on order from GP surgeries and pharmacies. The company announced last month that it is unable to supply the flu vaccine in England until November, meaning NHS chiefs have had to source doses from elsewhere. Health officials have told The i Paper they will have enough supplies to meet demand and are “confident” there will be no disruption. Temmink said: “In England we use multiple suppliers. GPs and pharmacies order their own flu vaccine, so they have that arrangement with the suppliers – but we’ve supported them to make alternative orders, so we’re confident that there should be no disruption to the flu programme.” However representatives of the pharmacy sector have written to NHS England asking them for assurances that there will be enough jabs to meet demand. Another provider, Seqirus, is understood to have been scaling up doses to meet demand. Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said: “We are concerned by reports there are unexpected changes to the supply of flu vaccine to pharmacies, ahead of the roll out later this year. “This is frustrating for pharmacies, who have been carefully planning for the flu season to vaccinate as many patients as possible. “We have raised this urgently with both the manufacturer and NHS England, and we have been reassured that they are working through contingencies to ensure alternatives are available to patients and there is no disruption to supply.” This season more than 32 million people in England will be eligible for the flu jab – the biggest cohort outside of the Covid pandemic. More than 300,000 homeless people are being offered it for the first time. Between 18 and 19 million people are expected to take up the offer overall. Who is eligible for the flu jab this year? From 1 September Pregnant women, who can get vaccinated via their maternity services or GP All children aged two or three years on 31 August, 2026 – parents can book appointments via GP or, from 1 October, a pharmacist Primary school and secondary school-aged children, from reception to Year 11 – parents will either be contacted by their child’s school or directly via a new NHS service called Mavis Young people aged 17 and over attending a special educational needs (SEN) school who are also in a clinical risk group All children in clinical risk groups, from six months to less than 18 years From 1 October Everyone aged 65 years and over All adults in clinical risk groups, from age 18 to under 65 Residents of long-stay residential care homes Carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person Close contacts of people who are immunocompromised Rough sleepers and those using homeless hostels or night shelters aged 16 years and over Frontline social care workers without access to an employer-led occupational health scheme, including those working in residential care homes, domiciliary care and voluntary managed hospices Anyone eligible will be contacted by the NHS to book an appointment at GP or pharmacy Last year’s flu season arrived earlier than normal due to a variant, known as subclade K, of the Influenza A virus. However, hospital admissions and deaths were lower in 2025-26 than the previous winter. Dr Julie Yates, UK Health Security Agency’s deputy director for immunisation programmes, said: “It’s still too early to say with any certainty what the flu season will look like, but we’ll be monitoring this closely throughout autumn and winter.” Health minister Baroness Merron told The i Paper: “Last winter saw the best ambulance and A&E performance in four years, and we’re determined to build on that this year. “NHS trusts across the country are already stress testing their winter plans, with preparation starting as early as July. “We’re making it easier than ever to get the vaccine this winter, expanding access in community pharmacies, and rolling out digital tools to simplify the process for parents, schools and vaccination teams.”