TO the majority of the population, flu is an unwelcome winter hazard that condemns the poor sufferer to a few days in bed. But to the elderly, and people with certain medical conditions, it is a potential killer. And, for business, it is a leading cause of staff absence that costs the economy millions of pounds.
The argument for vaccinating young children with the annual flu jab, supported by new research from the Health Protection Agency, should therefore not be dismissed lightly.
Vaccinating large numbers of young children would certainly be a major log
istical exercise involving considerable cost to the taxpayer. But the benefits in terms of lives saved and reduced burden on business and the National Health Service would provide a more than convincing case for such a scheme.
One of the longstanding criticisms of the NHS has been its imbalanced approach, focusing heavily on returning patients to health while doing comparatively little to stop people becoming ill in the first place. Expanding the flu vaccine programme is precisely the kind of pre-emptive action that a 21st century health service should be taking.
Sadly, though, the HPA's analysis is unlikely to see a change in policy in the near future as the health service could not guarantee the support of parents. Take-up of the MMR jab is recovering slowly but has yet to return to ideal levels despite any concern over its safety having long since been laid to rest. The malign effect of that controversy would undoubtedly be felt in any new attempt to immunise children en masse.
The number of cases of measles, itself a very unpleasant disease, rose by a third last year which is why, for the moment, vaccination efforts must be concentrated on ensuring the damaging effects of the MMR scare are completely remedied.
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