Today's Edition
SAMIHAH ZAMAN (ABU DHABI)
With families returning to the UAE at the end of the summer break, doctors are urging parents to make influenza vaccinations part of their plans as children head back to school.
The close contact in classrooms and during school activities can accelerate the spread of respiratory viruses, as the start of a new academic year brings together large numbers of children, teachers and families, they said.
Annual vaccination remains the most effective way to reduce the risk of influenza and, importantly, its potentially serious complications.
“Flu can be more serious than the common cold, especially for children,” Dr Sahla Kallada, Consultant for General Paediatrics at Burjeel Medical City, told Aletihad.
Influenza can cause complications such as pneumonia and bacterial infections, and children can become sick enough to require hospitalisation. Some cases can be severe, she said.
“Everyone aged six months and older should receive a flu vaccine each year. It is also important for people who live with or care for children, especially newborns and infants younger than six months, to be vaccinated. Immunising the adults and children around an infant helps create a protective ‘cocooning’ effect,” Dr Kallada explained.
Influenza viruses can spread through coughing and sneezing, as well as when people touch contaminated surfaces and then touch their mouth. In schools and other enclosed settings where children spend extended periods together, transmission happens quickly. In the UAE, the flu season typically runs from October through March, peaking around December.
“Protecting children on time with the flu vaccine is therefore important to reduce the risk of them and their families becoming sick with influenza,” Dr Kallada said.
Dr Akhila Anand Paga, Internal Medicine Specialist at LLH Hospital, Abu Dhabi, said vaccination was the best approach to preventing influenza, even though vaccine effectiveness can vary between seasons. That variation, she told Aletihad, is partly linked to how closely the vaccine strains match the viruses circulating at a particular time. Because influenza viruses undergo frequent changes as they are transmitted, annual vaccination is important.
Protecting the Community
Dr Paga added that vaccination offers benefits beyond preventing infection, as it can reduce the severity of illness and the likelihood of serious outcomes.
“Studies have shown significant reductions in serious outcomes, including intensive care admissions and deaths among children,” she said.
The protection is particularly important for groups at higher risk of complications. Children, people with chronic heart, lung or kidney conditions, and those with diabetes or obesity can be more vulnerable to severe influenza and its associated complications.
According to the Ministry of Health and Prevention, annual flu epidemics result in three to five million cases of severe illness each year.
Vaccination can also help protect people who cannot be vaccinated themselves. Infants under six months are too young to receive the flu vaccine, making protection from the people around them particularly important, Dr Kallada added.
The importance of flu prevention has also remained clear in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic. “The post-pandemic period has reminded us that respiratory viruses continue to pose a significant public health challenge,” Dr Paga said.
There are two main types of flu vaccine. An injectable vaccine is approved for infants older than six months, children and adults, while a live attenuated nasal vaccine is licensed for children above two years and healthy adults. The vaccine can be administered alongside other age-appropriate childhood immunisations.
Parents should inform healthcare providers about any previous severe allergic reaction to a vaccine or its components. Dr Paga also advised patients to disclose any history of Guillain-Barré syndrome occurring within six weeks of a previous influenza vaccination.
With schools reopening and families returning to their usual routines, doctors say the back-to-school period provides an important opportunity to strengthen protection before influenza spreads more widely through the community.
