A free nasal spray flu vaccine is being recommended by the HSE to protect their children from flu.
Children are twice as likely as adults to get flu according to the health authority, while younger children are also more likely than adults to get severe complications from flu.
Between 2009 and 2019, 4,750 children were hospitalised with flu, 183 were admitted to ICU and 41 children died from the virus.
The vaccine, recommended for those aged two to 17, is available free at participating GP practices and pharmacies.