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Notices

Flu Vaccination for Healthy Primary and Secondary School Children

  • The school immunisation team is leading on vaccinations of healthy school children in County Durham.
  • This team has organised a date to visit each school in the County to administer the flu vaccination (to give the nasal vaccine in most cases).
  • If a child misses this visit, or are home-schooled, the school immunisation team will also be planning additional community clinics.
  • For queries about the schools flu vaccination programme in County Durham, contact the school initially or email the school immunisation team directly at [email protected].
  • Do not contact the GP practice about flu vaccines for healthy children in this age group – At present GP practices are only able to vaccinate children in a high risk group or who live with someone who is more likely to get infections.

For further information see https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/child-flu-vaccine/

Covid-19 Vaccination of Healthy 12-15 year olds

General Information

The Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective. One dose is being offered to healthy children aged 12-15 years to give them the best protection against Covid-19.

For further information see:

How many doses of the vaccine will a healthy child aged 12-15 years receive?

Currently, healthy children aged 12-15 years will receive one dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Some children aged 12 -15 years are being offered two doses of the vaccine if either:

  • they live with someone who is more likely to get infections (such as someone who has HIV, has had a transplant or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis)
  • they have a condition that means they’re at high risk of getting seriously ill from Covid-19

They will receive these vaccinations from a GP practice-led site.

See:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/who-can-get-the-vaccine/ for further information.

How will a healthy child aged 12-15 years receive a vaccine?

  • Most healthy children will be given their vaccine at school during school hours.
  • The school immunisation team is leading on vaccinations of healthy children in this age group in County Durham.
  • This team has organised a date to visit each school in the County to administer the vaccination, and has also contacted those who are home-schooled.
  • The school immunisation team will also be planning catch-up clinics.
  • If a child misses this visit, or parents wish to organise an appointment to get their child vaccinated sooner, this can now be done via the National Booking Service at
  • For queries about the school Covid-19 vaccination programme in County Durham, contact the school initially or email the school immunisation team directly at:
  • Do not contact the GP practice about Covid-19 vaccination for healthy children in this age group – At present GP practices are only able to vaccinate 12-15 year olds who are in a high risk group or who live with someone who is more likely to get infections.

Flu Vaccine Information

Flu Vaccination: Who should have it this winter and why

Flu isn’t just a heavy cold

Flu occurs every year, usually in the winter, which is why it’s sometimes called seasonal flu. It’s a highly infectious disease with symptoms that come on very quickly.

Colds are much less serious and usually start gradually with a stuffy or runny nose and a sore throat. A bad bout of flu can be much worse than a heavy cold.

The most common symptoms of flu are fever, chills, headache, aches and pains in the joints and muscles, and extreme tiredness. Healthy individuals usually recover within 2 to 7 days but, for some, the disease can lead to hospitalisation, permanent disability or even death.

Download this leaflet for more information:

Information for those in school years 7 – 11

Five reasons to have the flu vaccine:

  1. Protect yourself
    The vaccine will help protect you against flu and serious complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia.
  2. Protect your family and friends
    Having the vaccine will help protect more vulnerable friends and family.
  3. No injection needed
    The nasal spray is painless and easy to have.
  4. It’s better than having flu
    The nasal spray helps protect against flu, has been given to millions worldwide and has an excellent safety record.
  5. Avoid lost opportunities.
    If you get flu, you may be unwell for several days and not be able to do the things you enjoy.

Download this leaflet for more information:

Oxford Astra Zeneca Vaccine Information

COVID-19 vaccine Oxford-AstraZeneca and blood clotting

Recently there have been reports of an extremely rare but serious condition involving blood clots and unusual bleeding after AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccination.  The national committee which recommends on vaccines has therefore recommended that patients under 40 years are no longer offered this vaccine for their first dose. If you have already had a first dose of AZ vaccine without suffering this rare side effect you should still complete the course with the AZ vaccine for your second dose, even if you are under 40.  For more information please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-and-blood-clotting/covid-19-vaccination-and-blood-clotting

Covid 19 Vaccine Research

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO0dQl6MuGs

NHS researchers in the UK are working together to help find a vaccine against COVID-19.

Many possible COVID-19 vaccines are being tested in the UK. Different vaccines may work better for different groups of people. It’s important we include people from all backgrounds and ages in our research. This gives researchers an understanding of how well each vaccine may work.

All COVID-19 vaccines being researched in the NHS have gone through strict safety testing, and have been approved by a number of processes. We use the same high standards to COVID research as we do to all NHS research.

We are still looking for volunteers for studies in the North East and North Cumbria to find a vaccine against COVID-19.

To sign up and for more information visit www.nhs.uk/researchcontact

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