More than 17,000 two-year-olds across Sussex will be offered a flu vaccine from September.

The move is part of a national immunisation scheme aimed at cutting the number of people dying or ending up in hospital every winter.

The vaccine will be given via a nasal spray and the aim is to get as many children protected as possible before the flu season gets underway.

Brighton and Hove consultant in public health Max Kammerling is delighted. He said: “This is good news for residents.

“Immunising the most vulnerable in our communities helps to protect not only individuals but also the health of the whole community by making it more difficult for serious diseases to spread.

Targeting

“The area team of NHS England will be carrying out detailed work on how the vaccination programmes will be implemented.”

Some two-year-olds will be able to have the vaccine at routine immunisation sessions but others will need to make a special visit under the flu programme.

Infections tend to spread more quickly between young children which is why the Department of Health is targeting this particular age group.

Plans are in hand to phase in similar vaccinations for primary and pre-school children next year.

MMR programme

The move comes as the county steps up its MMR vaccination programme in a bid to avoid measles outbreaks hitting Sussex.

There were more than 300 confirmed cases across Sussex last year, with Brighton and Hove, which has a lower than average MMR take-up rate, the worst hit.

There have only been a handful of cases so far this year.

But health bosses are keen to get as |many people as possible protected following the current outbreak in Wales.

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