TY - JOUR T1 - Influenza vaccine uptake: the case for universal flu vaccination of young children JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 428 LP - 429 DO - 10.3399/bjgp11X582976 VL - 61 IS - 588 AU - David Mant AU - Richard Mayon-White Y1 - 2011/07/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/61/588/428.abstract N2 - Summer has just started but it will not be long before the first older patients arrive in the surgery asking about their annual influenza vaccination. In UK general practice, the autumn seasonal flu vaccination for over 65s is a well-established routine, as widely-accepted as the free bus pass. In 2009/2010, uptake was 77% in Northern Ireland, 75% in Scotland, 72% in England, and 64% in Wales.1 Although one of the three papers on influenza vaccination in this issue of the BJGP reports that some social inequality in vaccine uptake persists — despite introduction of the Quality and Outcomes Framework, which boosted overall uptake and reduced variation between practices — even in the most socioeconomically deprived category, two-thirds (67%) of older patients in Scotland were vaccinated in 2006/2007.2In contrast, research by Sampson et al found that influenza vaccine was given to only one in four of the at-risk children for whom seasonal influenza vaccination is recommended by UK national guidelines.3 For some parents, getting to the clinic for the offered appointment was an issue. Others intended to take their children but didn't get around to it, and a substantial number are unconvinced that their children would benefit from the vaccination.3 Some of this scepticism may reflect media-amplified concern about vaccine side effects and a suspicion that multiple vaccinations are harmful. It also appears that many parents think either that influenza vaccine … ER -