Seasonal flu: should you vaccinate your children in Anderlecht?

Why can flu be serious in children?

In Belgium, the flu (influenza) epidemic usually lasts 6 to 12 weeks each winter, most often peaking between December and February. Most healthy children recover within a few days, but flu can lead to complications (pneumonia, febrile seizures). The risk is higher in babies under 6 months, children under 2 and those with a chronic illness. The virus also spreads very easily within the family.

Which children should be vaccinated?

In Belgium, the Superior Health Council (SHC) does not recommend routine flu vaccination for all children. For the 2026-2027 season, vaccination is recommended for:

• children aged 6 months and over with a chronic condition, even if stable: lung disease (including severe asthma), heart, liver or kidney disease, diabetes or another metabolic disease, a neuromuscular disorder, an immune disorder, or severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40);
• children and teenagers aged 6 months to 18 years on long-term aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), because of the risk of Reye's syndrome;
• children living under the same roof as a person at risk or a baby under 6 months (the “cocooning” strategy).

Babies under 6 months cannot be vaccinated: they are partly protected by vaccinating their mother during pregnancy (recommended in any trimester) and the people around them. For any other healthy child, vaccination remains possible from 6 months: talk it over with your doctor.

Which vaccine and when?

In Belgium, all available flu vaccines are injectable and inactivated; the nasal spray vaccine is not available here. They are trivalent: the B/Yamagata lineage, not detected since 2020, has been removed. Children receive a standard-dose vaccine: Alpharix®, Influvac®, Vaxigrip® or Flucelvax® (made without eggs).

The SHC recommends vaccinating from mid-October, ideally before the end of November; later vaccination is still useful. Protection develops 10 to 15 days after the injection. A child under 9 being vaccinated against flu for the first time receives two doses at least 4 weeks apart; in the following years, one dose is enough. The vaccine is updated each year to match circulating viruses and must be repeated every season.

How much does it cost?

Flu is not part of the basic childhood vaccination schedule (ONE, Kind en Gezin): the vaccine is obtained from a pharmacy. For a child in a recommended group, the standard-dose vaccine is partly reimbursed by INAMI-RIZIV (category b), with a prescription stating that third-party payment applies or when the pharmacist records the dispensing in your pharmaceutical record. Outside these groups, you pay for the vaccine yourself. Some health insurance funds (mutualités) offer an additional contribution: check with yours.

For patients registered with the Maison Médicale Parc Astrid, general practice consultations are covered by the INAMI flat-rate system: there is no payment per consultation. The vaccine itself is not included. How the flat-rate system works.

Side effects and misconceptions

The flu vaccine cannot give you flu: the vaccines used in Belgium are inactivated. Common side effects are pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, and sometimes fever, headache or muscle aches; they are usually mild and short-lived. Severe allergic reactions are rare. The vaccine reduces the risk of flu without eliminating it, and its effectiveness varies from season to season.

An egg allergy does not usually prevent vaccination. If your child has had anaphylaxis to egg, say so: the vaccine made without eggs is then recommended.

How to get your child vaccinated in Anderlecht

• With your doctor: they check whether your child belongs to a recommended group, prescribe the vaccine (to collect from the pharmacy) and then give the injection. At the Maison Médicale Parc Astrid, book an appointment with your GP or through our contact page.
• At a pharmacy: trained pharmacists can prescribe and give the flu vaccine. For a child, ask first whether the pharmacy vaccinates at that age.

See also our vaccinations page. At the Maison Médicale Parc Astrid, this care is available in French, Dutch, English and Turkish.

Sources

• Conseil Supérieur de la Santé / Hoge Gezondheidsraad – Avis 9897 : vaccination contre la grippe saisonnière, saison 2026-2027 (2026)
• CBIP/BCFI – Répertoire commenté des médicaments, 12.1.1.5 Vaccin contre l'influenza (2026)
• INAMI/RIZIV – Remboursement du vaccin contre la grippe saisonnière (2026)
• Vaccination-info.be – Grippe (2026)
• ONE / Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles – Calendrier de vaccination 2025-2026 (2025)
• Departement Zorg (Vlaanderen) – Vaccinaties volgens leeftijd (2026)