ALL children under five are to be offered the swine flu vaccine.

The Department for Health announced parents of youngsters aged between six months and five years old will be contacted by the GP and offered the vaccine to protect against swine flu.

Children under five are more likely than other groups to be hospitalised if they become ill with swine flu.

It will start once GPs complete the vaccination of priority groups which are people with long term illnesses, pregnant women and health workers.

The details of how and exactly when it will be delivered are still to be agreed.

Across south Essex uptake of the vaccine appears to be good, despite the national picture showing many people are wary about the jab.

Carly Harrison, spokeswoman at Southend Hospital, said: “The uptake has trebled since it has been offered to all staff, rather than just frontline staff, and on the whole the uptake has been very good.”

At Basildon Hospital the regular swine flu vaccination clinics for patients had administered 1,500 swine flu vaccines up until Sunday.

Southend Medical Centre, in London Road, Southend, held its first vaccination clinic on Saturday for at risk groups including pregnant women and people with long standing health problems.

Dr Haroon Siddique, part owner and partner at the centre, said: “We held a three-hour session and it was packed and we gave 40 people the jab. Common questions were about the possible side effects of the vaccine and whether or not people could catch swine flu from having the jab. They cannot because it is an inactive virus.

“There is always going to be a little bit of concern when something new comes out and so quickly, but the current argument is that in vulnerable groups the consequences of having swine flu are quite serious.”

The local evidence goes against a national poll of 107 GPs in England, for Pulse magazine, which found resistance to the jab was particularly high among pregnant women and, overall, only 46 per cent of patients offered the vaccine have said yes.