Pharmacies to offer toddler flu spray vaccination

Thousands of pharmacies in England will offer free NHS flu spray doses to toddlers for the first time this year.

The vaccination is given via a child's nose and two and three-year-olds could previously access them at their GP surgery.

Around 4,000 pharmacies have signed up to deliver the vaccine to 1.2 million eligible toddlers from 1 October.

Both walk-in and booked flu vaccine appointments will be available as part of the NHS drive to increase vaccine uptake nationally.

NHS England stats show that last winter, there were more than 300,000 hospital bed days taken up by patients with flu – almost double the previous winter.

It's a situation Health Minister Ashley Dalton said "we cannot afford a repeat of" this year.

The hope is that by vaccinating young children, they are not only protected from catching flu, but they will also not pass the virus on to others.

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Source: BBC News, 24 September 2025