The HSE has issued a circular (NCO 17-2025) to assist community pharmacies with planning for the Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (LAIV) Schools Programme 2025/2026 which is due to commence in October as part of the annual Autumn Winter Vaccination Programme.
In this circular, the HSE outlines the operational model for the LAIV schools programme 2025/2026. Community pharmacists, GPs, and HSE vaccination teams are encouraged to offer an LAIV service in primary school settings to all eligible pupils within that school. HSE teams will also provide the service to all primary age special schools.
An email to principals of primary schools was issued in late May 2025 on behalf of the HSE National Immunisation Office (NIO) through the Department of Education regarding the Influenza Vaccination Programme 2025/2026 for Children. It outlined that flu vaccination is strongly recommended for all children and young people aged 2 to 17 years. The communication encouraged primary schools to consider participating in this programme and should they do so to only accept one vaccine provider to administer vaccines in the school (i.e. either a community pharmacist, a GP or HSE vaccination team).
Community pharmacies can reach out to local mainstream primary schools to establish if the school wishes to have an LAIV service provided onsite. The window to contact schools prior to the summer holidays has been small, however contact can continue to be made throughout the summer months and once the academic year recommences in late August.
Similar to last season, an excel sheet is available for pharmacies to notify the HSE with details of the schools where they have agreed to offer an LAIV service onsite. Completing this excel sheet assists with stock allocation and transparency of schools’ engagement with the programme. The excel sheet is available on the HSE Vaccination Primary Care Contractors (VPCC)- LAIV Programme Resources for Community Pharmacy webpage, available at hse/ie/eng/about > National Contracts Office > Vaccination Primary Care Contractors Programme > LAIV Schools Programme 2025/2026. The HSE advise providers to stagger clinics and corresponding orders throughout the LAIV season, which is from mid-October until January.
The LAIV schools programme has been evolving over the last few years and key themes have emerged, which pharmacists should keep in mind when providing this service.
“Pharmacists should ensure that all consent forms are reviewed in advance of the vaccination clinic before attending the school. […] Vaccinators do not accept consent forms given to them on the day of vaccination as this does not allow sufficient time for review.”
Best practice guidance for gathering informed consent is found within the HSE National Consent Policy. Those in governance roles within community pharmacies should ensure that robust processes and procedures are in place for the delivery of an offsite vaccination, including the gathering of consent from parents and legal guardians.
When vaccinating a child under 16 years of age, as part of the HSE vaccination programme in a school setting, informed consent can be provided by the parent or legal guardian prior to vaccination, and they do not have to be present at the time of vaccination. While children are unable to give a valid consent for themselves their views should be taken into consideration and the pharmacist should ensure they assent to the vaccine being administered.
Sufficient information should be provided for parents or legal guardians to enable them to come to a reasoned decision about consent to each of the vaccination interventions involved for example, the nature of each intervention, the applicable risks and benefits. This may be facilitated through an information leaflet or online information provision.
Other important pieces of information which parents and legal guardians should be provided with in advance in of this service include:
PSI Guidance to support Pharmacies in Providing Safe Vaccination Services Offsite from the Pharmacy Premises and the HSE toolkit, Support the Administration of Flu Vaccination to Children in Primary Schools or Community Settings by Primary Care, provide support for pharmacists communicating with schools, parents and legal guardians in advance of delivering a vaccination service. Theses support documents outline key messaging that should be included.
Pharmacists should ensure that all consent forms are reviewed in advance of the vaccination clinic before attending the school. The HSE advise that vaccinators do not accept consent forms given to them on the day of vaccination as this does not allow sufficient time for review.
To date, the HSE Flu Vaccination Consent Form for Children aged 2-17 years (Fluenz LAIV) has allowed for parents and legal guardians to provide a signature when they do not wish for their child to receive any flu vaccine. This mirrors the process in place for the vaccines administered under the immunisation programme where ‘no consent’ is captured for public health purposes. At the time of writing the requirement for a consent form to be completed by a parent or legal guardian where they do not consent for a flu vaccine to be administered remains in place, but is under review. Any changes will be communicated in advance of the winter flu vaccination season’s commencement, if relevant.
Pharmacists are encouraged to check the child’s vaccination status on HSE Pharmavax in advance of vaccination. Checking a child’s vaccination history helps to ensure no flu vaccine has been administered to the child already in a season. To ensure that records held on HSE Pharmavax are accurate, all providers are encouraged to upload records of a vaccine administration as quickly as possible, thereby reducing the risk of a second dose being administered inadvertently.
HSE Pharmavax includes a functionality for the recording of influenza vaccinations administered at locations outside the retail pharmacy premises. Pharmacists can now search for and select the facility ID, name, address, or school roll number in the ‘Add Vaccination’ screen of HSE PharmaVax allowing the location and number of vaccinations provided in an offsite location to be identified and recorded. This facility should be used when recording vaccinations administered within a school setting.
Entering the PPS Number in the ‘Add Vaccination’ screen search field is the best way to retrieve the client details for the next vaccination to be recorded, when a large number of vaccinations have been administered.
Prior to providing a vaccination service at an offsite location, the Superintendent Pharmacist should ensure a risk assessment has been undertaken to assess whether the location is a suitable and appropriate place in accordance with the regulations. This should include consideration as to any additional challenges or risks which may arise, and the necessary mitigations.
The behaviour and wellbeing of a child at the time of vaccine administration is important and should be considered as part of the risk assessment, particularly as the children tend not to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Pharmacists should use their professional judgement to determine whether vaccination should proceed or whether postponement and/or provision in another location may be beneficial.
Carrying out practice runs prior to the start of the offsite vaccination service helps to ensure all team members, including support staff, are familiar with all aspects of delivering the service in the specific environment. A clear and appropriate patient journey from when they arrive at the vaccination site to when they leave, should be agreed. Pharmacist(s) and other staff members should be prepared and ready to manage an anaphylactic reaction or other adverse reaction that may occur.
Consideration should be given to the maintenance of the cold chain of the vaccines. The vaccinating pharmacist ultimately has responsibility for ensuring the vaccines they administer have been correctly stored and are in-date.
Vaccination records are required to be maintained to the same high standard as if the service were provided on the pharmacy premises. Procedures should be in place to ensure patient information is kept secure and confidential at all times, in line with Data Protection legislation.
The HSE VPCC will continue to update their webpage dedicated to the LAIV Schools Programme as information and resources become available from the NIO, including an updated HSE Toolkit to Support the Administration of Flu Vaccination to Children in Primary Schools or Community Setting by Primary Care.
Members will find updates on the programme through the IPU weekly eNewsletter and also on the IPU Flu Vaccination Hub, which is available at ipu.ie > Professional > Vaccines and Injectables > Flu Vaccination Hub. Other supports, including an IPU webinar dedicated to the LAIV Schools Programme, will be rolled out prior to the commencement of the vaccination season.
Susan O’Donnell MPSI
Professional Services Pharmacist, IPU
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