{"id":12794,"date":"2025-09-22T13:53:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T13:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=12794"},"modified":"2025-10-23T11:35:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:35:59","slug":"protecting-children-and-the-vulnerable-against-the-flu-virus-is-vital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/childrens-health\/protecting-children-and-the-vulnerable-against-the-flu-virus-is-vital\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting children and the vulnerable against the flu virus is vital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"380\" height=\"380\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-12795\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/22134858\/vicky-1758548937-Kingston-mills.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/22134858\/vicky-1758548937-Kingston-mills.jpg 380w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/22134858\/vicky-1758548937-Kingston-mills-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Kingston Mills<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Professor of Experimental Immunology, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>An immunology scientist issues a strong reminder as to why it&#8217;s important for people to annually vaccinate against influenza (flu), which can be particularly concerning for more vulnerable groups.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Last winter, there was an increase in the number of flu cases reported across Ireland, highlighting the need for vaccination against the virus as the new season approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-flu-can-be-debilitating\"><strong>Flu can be debilitating<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Vulnerable groups such as young children, the over 65s, those who are immunocompromised and health workers are particularly susceptible. Prof Kingston Mills, who is Professor of Experimental Immunology at Trinity College Dublin, says: \u201cIt\u2019s really important that people are vaccinated. Traditionally, children bring the virus home from the creche or school and spread it to the rest of the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUnlike the common cold, which is not going to put you into bed, influenza is a disease that will leave you debilitated and in a lot of cases, hospitalisation can result from the infection. It can turn into pneumonia, and that can be difficult to treat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-rise-in-flu-cases\"><strong>A rise in flu cases<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) for the first week of January 2025 show a total of 3,800 cases of flu were reported. Of those, 138 children were aged under one; 775 were aged between 65 and 80; while 660 cases were of people over 80.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof Mills, who works on different types of vaccines and previously on the immunology of influenza infection, signals the general drop off in the uptake of most vaccinations since the Covid-19 pandemic. However, flu jab uptake in children has remained steady, and there has only been a drop of 1% in adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDuring the pandemic, people were convinced of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.astrazeneca.com\/country-sites\/ireland.html\">benefits of vaccinations<\/a>, but since then, I think a sense of either fatigue or complacency has set in, and there is a lot less impetus to vaccinate,\u201d he says. \u201cFor example, the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination is an extremely effective vaccine, one of the best ever made \u2014 and it really does work, but the uptake has declined and resulted in outbreaks of the measles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The problem with flu is that it <br>mutates very rapidly, and <br>this is why we need to <br>vaccinate every winter.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-weighing-up-risks-and-benefits\"><strong>Weighing up risks and benefits<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof Mills believes misinformation in the media may have led to negative thinking about vaccinations. The benefits and risks of vaccines are assessed by regulatory authorities before approval, he highlights: \u201cI think it\u2019s important to say that some people may experience side effects.\u201d These can include a short fever, a stuffy nose and fatigue for a day or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, children from the age of two to 17 are offered a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.astrazeneca.com\/country-sites\/ireland.html\">free nasal administered vaccine<\/a>. If the nasal spray is unsuitable, alternatives are also offered. An awareness campaign is being launched in October to remind parents of its availability and urge them to book slots with their GP or pharmacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mutations-make-predictions-impossible\"><strong>Mutations make predictions impossible<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The vaccine is a mix of a number of strains of the virus. These strains are selected and changed periodically based on the circulating strain. \u201cThe problem with flu is that it mutates very rapidly, and this is why we need to vaccinate every winter,\u201d explains Prof Mills. \u201cThe immunity you gained against last year\u2019s viruses may not protect against this year\u2019s circulating strain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With flu strains, there is also the ability for a human virus to combine with a porcine or avian one to create a completely new type of flu that has never been seen before. \u201cThis is what can result in pandemics, and the last flu pandemic we had was in 2009. We have had previous ones, and you can never predict what will happen,\u201d says Prof Mills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a strong <a href=\"https:\/\/www.astrazeneca.com\/country-sites\/ireland.html\">advocate for vaccinations<\/a>, Prof Mills points to the examples of the almost complete eradication of killer diseases smallpox and polio, as well as the successful HPV jab against cervical cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a id=\"_msocom_1\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An immunology scientist issues a strong reminder as to why it&#8217;s important for people to annually vaccinate against influenza (flu), which can be particularly concerning for more vulnerable groups. Last winter, there was an increase in the number of flu cases reported across Ireland, highlighting the need for vaccination against the virus as the new &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/childrens-health\/protecting-children-and-the-vulnerable-against-the-flu-virus-is-vital\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":12796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3099],"tags":[5981],"class_list":["post-12794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childrens-health","tag-childrens-health-wellbeing-2025"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/22135136\/vicky-1758549095-AdobeStock_496495490-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/22135136\/vicky-1758549095-AdobeStock_496495490-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12794"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12962,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12794\/revisions\/12962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}