A Greater Manchester GP is slamming myths circulating on social media falsely linking the child flu vaccine to Strep A. The GP’s statements come after videos have been made on platform TikTok alleging that the nasal flu vaccine, given to schoolchildren, causes group A Strep.
Across the UK, seven children in England, one in Northern Ireland and one in Wales have died due to complications from strep A bacterial infections since September. Dr Helen Wall, a GP from Bolton, and Greater Manchester’s Clinical Director Population Health and lead for immunisations and screening, is exposing the rumours as fake.
The myths come as flu rates are on the rise, according to the GP, prompting a push for children to get vaccinated. The uptake of the nasal spray protecting youngsters from the illness is ‘far too low’, says Dr Wall.
Children can become more vulnerable to illnesses if they are already ill with another. Doctors have said that children’s immune systems can be lowered if they contract flu, which could open them up to other issues like getting sick with Strep A, making protection vital.
Speaking on a Manchester Evening News Facebook live, Dr Wall said: “Our flu rates are really high this year compared to the last two seasons, this week compared to this week last year we’ve got ten times as many hospital admissions for flu alone.
“We really need to protect people from flu this year as well as Covid, and our two-to-three-year-old nasal flu vaccine uptake is really low. It’s about 30 per cent, which is far too low for my liking and the protection we need to afford.
“We’ve got lots of children going to hospital and ending up in critical care with flu, and then this Strep A has caused some concern which is very understandable. But there are things circulating on social media now linking the nasal flu vaccine to Strep A.”
Strep A can cause a range of illnesses. Most cases are mild - a sore throat or a skin infection that can be easily treated with antibiotics.
Some people develop scarlet fever, which causes a skin rash and flu-like symptoms, including a high temperature.
Very rarely, strep A can cause invasive group A streptococcal infection or iGAS, which can be deadly. Invasive disease happens when the bacteria get past your body's immune defences - and has been the cause of the handful of cases which have seen fatalities among youngsters.
“Strep A has been around for years, it’s not a new bacteria. We’ve known about it for years, we’ve managed it for years as GPs,” continued Dr Wall. “We’ve seen it umpteen times in tonsillitis and scarlet fever. It’s not unusual for us to have a peak in Strep A.
“There is no link to the nasal flu vaccine, there’s no scientific mechanism that I could ever think of that could link it. There’s certainly no current evidence that there’s any link at all."
Dr Wall finished by stating that any alleged link between the flu vaccine is 'pure misinformation'.
“We’ve been giving the nasal flu vaccine since 2013 in the UK, and in America it’s been given years and years before that, so from my point of view it’s safe.
“My children have had the nasal flu vaccine and will continue to do so. I’m a parent and obviously worry about my children in terms of Strep A, but I think we need to not cause a rise in our flu cases because we’re trying to prevent people getting Strep A through misinformation.
“It is pure misinformation.”
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