Parents of 1-15 Y/Os
Going to nursery, then “big school”. That first kiss.
As your child grows they will meet and mingle with many more people. They will need a series of additional vaccinations to keep them safe and healthy.
Vaccinations as your child grows
As your baby gets older, they need booster jabs for some of the earlier vaccinations and some additional vaccinations to keep them safe from other diseases.
The links below will tell you about what jabs they will be getting and when. From there you can follow links to the NHS pages about the vaccinations and the Oxford University Vaccine Project pages which will tell you more about the diseases from which the vaccines help keep us safe.
Appointment at One Year Old
When your child is a year old they will get an appointment for the Hib/MenC vaccine and the MMR vaccine. They will also have their second dose of pneumococcal vaccine and third dose of Meningitis B vaccine.
The Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) vaccine given at this stage builds on the earlier doses given as part of the 6-in-1 vaccine and completes the vaccination programme against this disease.
Link to NHS page – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hib/
Link to Oxford University Vaccine project page – http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/hib-disease
The Meningitis C vaccine gives protection from the second most prevalent strain of the meningococcal virus. Following the introduction of the MenC vaccine in 1999, the number of type C infections fell by over 90% in vaccinated groups. It also fell by around 66% in non-vaccinated groups owing to herd immunity, as there were fewer people carrying the bacteria and passing them to others. Type C infections have caused only 2 deaths in children and young people under 20 in the last 5 years, compared to 78 deaths in the single year before the vaccine was introduced.
Links NHS on Hib/MenC vaccine – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/hib-men-c-booster-vaccine/
Oxford Vaccine on Meningococcal disease – http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/meningococcal-disease
This link takes you to the NHS page about possible side effects from this vaccination.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/hib-men-c-booster-side-effects/
Your child will also receive their first dose of the MMR vaccine at their one year appointment. This is a combined vaccine which protects children against Measles, Mumps and Rubella (German Measles) and is administered as a single injection into the muscle of the upper arm or thigh.
There has been much controversy about the MMR vaccine since a report in the late 1990s suggested a link between this vaccine and autism. That link has never been proven and no other research has supported that conclusion. The doctor who postulated the theory has been struck off by the British Medical Association.
Link to the NHS page on the MMR Vaccine – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/mmr-vaccine/
Link the the Oxford University page on the MMR vaccine – http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/mmr-vaccine
There is information on the NHS page about the possible side effects of the MMR vaccine. Information on the specific diseases that this vaccine helps prevent is below.
Measles is a highly infectious viral disease which can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). In addition, measles infection damages and suppresses the whole immune system. This means that people who have had measles are more likely to catch other infectious diseases.
Between 2001 and 2013 there was a sharp rise in the number of UK measles cases, and three people died. Numbers of cases have fallen since 2013, but rates of measles are still higher than they were in the late 1990s and seem to be rising again, with four times as many confirmed cases in 2018, (996), compared with 2017. 30% of people who contract measles will be hospitalised.
This is a link to the Oxford University page about Measles: http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/measles
Mumps is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It can lead to a wide range of complications, some very serious. These include meningitis and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
Before the MMR vaccine was introduced in 1988, more than 8 out of every 10 people in the UK developed mumps. Mumps used to cause about 1,200 hospital admissions each year in England and Wales. It was the most common cause of both viral meningitis and acquired deafness in children.
After 2002 there was a big increase in confirmed mumps cases in the UK. This peaked in 2005, when there were over 40,000 cases of mumps in England and Wales. Smaller peaks occurred in 2009 (over 7500 cases) and 2013 (over 4000 cases). Most of the cases have been in teenagers and young adults who were too old to be offered the MMR vaccine when it was introduced in 1988, and also missed a second MMR dose when this was introduced in 1996. Many of the outbreaks have been in colleges and universities.
This is a link to the Oxford U|niversity page abot Mumps: http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/mumps
In 2015 the World Health Organization announced that the UK had eliminated rubella. This means there are so few cases that the disease does not circulate widely in the population.
Public Health England estimates that rubella vaccination in the UK has prevented around 1.4 million cases of rubella, 1,300 cases of CRS-related birth defects, and averted 25,000 terminations.
This link will take you to the Oxford University page about Rubella: https://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/rubella
Annual Childhood Flu Vaccinations
Between two and ten years old, it is recommended that your child has an annual flu vaccination. If your child is in a high-risk group, then they will be offered this vaccine from six months old.
The childhood flu vaccine is given by nasal spray from the age of two. If your child is in a high-risk group and receives the vaccine at an earlier age, they will receive it via injection.
You will find NHS advice on childhood flu vaccination here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/child-flu-vaccine/. You can also read about any potential side-effects on the NHS page.
You can read about how serious Flu can be on the Oxford University page here: http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/influenza-flu
3 years and 4 months - pre-school appointment
At three years and four months your child will have the second dose of the MMR vaccine and a 4-in-1, pre-school booster for Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis(Whooping Cough) and Polio.
It is especially important that your child has these inoculations as they will be mixing with many more children when they start school and potentially be exposed to a much higher risk of infection as a consequence.
You can read about the MMR vaccine above.
The NHS information page on the 4-in-1 booster vaccination is here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/4-in-1-pre-school-dtap-ipv-booster/
You can see the NHS page about possible side-effects here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/4-in-1-pre-school-booster-side-effects/
12/13 year olds - HPV vaccination
Between the age of 12 and 13 your child will be given the HPV vaccine, which helps prevent Cervical Cancer, some other cancers and Genital Warts. Normally, two injections are needed, six months apart, in the upper arm muscle.
This is a relatively new vaccine which was introduced in 2008 for girls and 2019 for boys. It is effective against the main strains of the virus which are linked to more than 70% of cases of Cervical Cancer. It is estimated that ti could prevent over 2,000 cases of cancer every year. There is already evidence that it is reducing rates of sexually transmitted Genital Wart infections.
14 year olds - 3-in-1 booster and Men-ACWY vaccination
The 3-in-1 booster gives additional protection from Diptheria, Tetanus and Polio. It is given as a single injection into the muscle of the upper arm.
The NHS page about this vaccine is here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/3-in-1-teenage-booster/
At the same time, your child will be given the Men-ACWY vaccine which protects against further strains of meningococcal infection, which can cause Meningitis and Septicaemia (blood poisoning). This is also given by injection into the muscle of the upper arm.
The NHS page about this vaccine is here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/men-acwy-vaccine/
Normally, both these jabs will be given at school in year 9. However, if your child has not had this vaccination and is planning to go to university, it is very important they have it before they go as many students in UK universities are from countries which do not have the same vaccination programmes as the UK.
Information about possible side-effects of both these vaccines is included on the NHS pages.
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