Fife primary school flu vaccines delayed

The flu vaccine programme for older primary school children in Fife is being postponed due to supply issues.

Earlier this month the Scottish Government said some batches of the Fluenz Tetra nasal spray vaccine were unlikely to arrive as planned due to “routine testing” issues, which are not related to safety or effectiveness.

NHS Fife has now announced the vaccine programme for children in primary four to primary seven is being postponed, with “mop-up clinics” due to take place once the supply difficulties have been resolved.

Children with underlying health conditions, pre-school children aged between two and five-years-old and children in primary one to three should receive their nasal flu vaccination as planned.

A statement from NHS Fife said:

“There is currently a UK-wide issue in the supply of the nasal flu vaccine for those children aged 2-17. This is affecting the ability of health boards to deliver the vaccine to all young people.”

It added the adult flu vaccination programme is unaffected by the supply issues and is operating as normal.