Year seven and eight pupils in Solihull are being administered flu vaccines by school nurses, as part of NHS England's flu immunisation pilot scheme.
The Fluenz vaccination is a nasal spray that immunises children against a range of flu virus strains. School nurses in the Solihull area began to administer the vaccine in October, and will continue to until December.
Participation in the pilot scheme is voluntary, with parents being asked to sign a consent form to allow their children to be vaccinated. It is strongly recommended that as many children as possible are immunised, to give them and others effective protection from the flu virus. It has been noted that porcine gelatin is a component in the Fluenz vaccine, which may lead to the parents in certain religious groups declining to give their consent.
Lorraine Hoolachan, the Heart of England Trust's immunisation lead for school nurses, said: 'This pilot programme for year seven and eight pupils in schools across [Solihull] will help us to stop the spread through our schools of what can be a very nasty illness and also help protect friends and family members of those immunised.'
PHE announced in August that the flu vaccination pilots would be extended to eventually provide 700,000 children with the vaccine.