Bristol hospital calls for children to get vaccinated

Laura said she felt "reassured" when her son, Sasho was vaccinated against flu

Health officials are urging parents to get children vaccinated against flu.

Bristol Children's Hospital said figures were at their lowest during Covid but after measures were lifted in 2022, it saw more young patients admitted with serious symptoms.

Vaccines can be administered as a nasal spray or injection and can reduce the risk of hospitalisation by two thirds.

Gloucester Road Medical Centre practice nurse Gill Wattam warned flu was "actually quite a serious illness".

Mother-of-three Laura, 35, said she had a lot of flu in her household since Covid and found it "very reassuring" knowing her sons were vaccinated.

"As soon as someone is ill in our house everything falls apart so it's really important to keep updated with all our vaccines.

"I make sure [the children] get all their vaccinations because I don't want them getting sick," she said.

Her two-year-old son Sasho is protected against flu after having the nasal vaccine.

"He wasn't really worried. I think the nasal spray is definitely easier," Laura added.

Ms Wattam said Influenza is "actually quite a serious illness"

Vaccination is the best way to protect children from serious illness and limit the spread of the virus, the UK Health Security Agency says.

The agency found more than 10,000 children had been hospitalised in England after the flu virus rebounded in 2022.

Practice nurse Gill Wattam said: "I think sometimes people think that the flu is just a bad cold - it's not at all.

"It's actually quite a serious illness, and unfortunately, some children do go on to have some severe complications from it."

Complications include painful inflammation inside the ear, chest infections and pneumonia.

Victoria has conversations with daughter Elinor about flu and germs to keep her aware of symptoms and risks

Victoria, 33, said she had conversations about germs and flu early on with her three-year-old daughter Elinor.

"Elinor is at an age now where she understands a lot more, so we talk about washing hands and using tissues and catching germs," she said.

"I just want them to be as strong and healthy as possible."

Ms Wattam said health officials aimed to vaccinate as many two and three year olds as possible to manage flu cases in people under 18.

"We really want to protect as many people as we can across our community against this disease," she said.