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Information from the HSE
Schools have been asked by the DE and the HSE to share the following information:
COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) recommends parents and guardians consider vaccinating their 5 to 11 year old children.
COVID-19 vaccine is particularly recommended if children:
· Have a health condition that puts them at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19
· live with a younger child or adult who is at risk of severe illness if they get COVID-19 e.g. another child with complex medical needs, or an immunocompromised adult
The vaccine that will be offered to children aged 5 to 11 years is Comirnaty® Children’s formulation. Children in this age group will be given a smaller dose of the vaccine than adults. Parents and guardians can register their child for their vaccine online at https://vaccine.hse.ie/. As part of this stage of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, information for people considering vaccinating their children including information about the benefits and risk of vaccination and information about how to get vaccinated is available on https://bit.ly/HSEC19511
A cartoon strip has also been developed to help children understand what will happen when they go to a HSE clinic to get their COVID-19 vaccine https://bit.ly/C19Cartoon511 Page 2 of 2
Getting COVID-19 vaccines with other vaccines
NIAC advises that children aged 5 to 11 years wait at least 2 weeks between getting a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, like the flu vaccine or 4 in 1 and MMR vaccines. Children aged 2 to 17 years can get the free nasal flu vaccine through participating GPs and pharmacies until the end of this month. Information about the flu vaccination programme is available on the HSE website at www.hse.ie/flu. A list of pharmacies giving flu vaccines is also available on https://bit.ly/PhFluFinder Children in Junior Infants may also be due their 4 in 1 and MMR vaccine, school teams will work with your school to ensure where possible the vaccination programme continues and children whose parents have consented for them to receive 4in1 and MMR vaccine can do so.
Consent
Only parent(s) and legal guardian(s) are entitled to provide consent for vaccination for students under 16 years of age. A video covering information about consent is available from our office YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/vE1X5AcwNgE
Information for Parents
Influenza Vaccination Campaign 2021/2022
The HSE has asked schools to share this link where you will find information about this year’s nasal ‘flu vaccine for children aged 2-17 years.
https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/pubinfo/flu-vaccination/engleafletflu.pdf
We’re Open!
Happy to say that school re-opens tomorrow, Thursday 9th December. A message from the Department of Education is copied below.
The Department is advising that schools throughout the country will open tomorrow as usual.
The Department would like to thank school communities, staff, students and parents, as well as the emergency services for their support during Storm Barra.
Further School Closure
Dear Dads, Mams and Girls,
Please see the statement below just issued by the Department of Education. As a result, the school will remain closed again tomorrow, December 8th.
You might also take a few minutes tomorrow, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and our school’s birthday, to remember everyone who has made a contribution to Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS over the past 62 years.
Stay safe and warm.
Yours sincerely,
C. O’Reilly – Principal
The Department is advising that all schools that are currently or forecast to be in a Red or Orange alert area should remain closed tomorrow, 8th December. This will allow for assessment of the impact of Storm Barra to take place.
This includes counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Limerick, Clare, Galway, Mayo and Wexford.
Weather Warning
Dear Mams and Dads,
This is the message received from the Department of Education advising schools not to open tomorrow. Our apologies for any inconvenience and we hope that you and your families remain safe.
Yours sincerely,
C. O’Reilly – Principal
A Red Alert has now been issued by Met Éireann relating to severe wind for counties Clare, Kerry and Cork.
A status orange warning has issued for counties Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Mayo, Wexford, Dublin, Louth, Wicklow, Meath.
Met Éireann has advised that there is a strong possibility that the status of parts of these counties currently in status orange are likely to change and escalate to status red.
Due to the significant nature of Storm Barra, as forecast by Met Éireann and to give sufficient notice to schools and parents/guardians, the Department is advising that all schools covered by the Red Alert and Orange warning from Met Éireann should not open tomorrow, 7 December.
