27 January 2006
Health professionals have called for more research to be published before they endorse plans to vaccinate all young children against flu.
It emerged this week that the Department of Health's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is exploring the viability of routine flu vaccinations for children up to the age of two to help reduce the burden of influenza on the health service.
Minutes from a meeting of the committee's influenza subgroup held in September revealed that a pre-school vaccination strategy could greatly reduce the impact of flu.
'Such a policy was only cost-effective, however, if pre-school vaccination resulted in significant reductions in influenza in adults,' the minutes state, adding that more work is needed on the efficacy of the vaccine in babies.
The Community Practitioners' and Heath Visitors' Association said it was important for all evidence presented to the committee to be published to ensure a proper clinical judgement was made.
CPHVA education officer Val Thurtle said: 'We want to be 100% sure that this is not one injection too many.'
PFjan2006
