Childhood immunisations

You can find the full schedule of vaccinations on the NHS website here.

If your child has a minor illness without a fever, such as a cold, they should have their immunisations as normal. 

If your child is ill with a fever, put off the immunisation until the child has recovered. This is to avoid the fever being associated with the vaccine, or the vaccine increasing the fever your child already has.

There is no other proven, effective way to immunise your child against infectious disease without experiencing the serious risk of that infection.  

In the UK, these diseases, such as measles, are kept at bay by high immunisation rates. Around the world, millions of people a year die from infectious diseases with more than 5 million of these being children under the age of 5. Many of these deaths could be prevented by immunisation.

As more people travel abroad and more people come to visit this country, there is a risk that they will bring these diseases into the UK. The diseases may spread to people who haven’t been immunised, or who are still too young to be immunised. 

Immunisation doesn’t just protect your child; it also helps to protect your family and the whole community, especially those children who, for medical reasons, can’t be immunised.

Before a vaccine is allowed to be used, its safety and effectiveness have to be thoroughly tested. After they have been licensed, the safety of vaccines continues to be monitored. All routine vaccines in the NHS programme have been used in millions of children worldwide and have an excellent safety record. 

All health authorities worldwide agree that immunisation is the safest way to protect our children’s health.

Any side effects that occur are usually mild and short lived. Your child may get a little redness, swelling or tenderness where the injection was given that will disappear on its own. Fever can be expected after any vaccination. There is advice for parents on what to expect after vaccination here:  What to expect after vaccinations - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Fever is more common after the first two doses of the Meningococcal B (Men B) vaccination, which are given at 8 weeks and 16 weeks old. There is specific advice for parents on how to prevent and treat fever after MenB vaccine at 8 and 16 weeks here: MenB vaccine and paracetamol - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Very rarely, children can have an allergic reaction soon after immunisation. This reaction may be a rash or itching affecting part or all of the body. The doctor or nurse giving the vaccine will know how to treat this. It does not mean that your child should stop having immunisations.

Anaphylactic reaction

Even more rarely, children can have a severe reaction, within a few minutes of the immunisation, which causes breathing difficulties and can cause the child to collapse. This is called an anaphylactic reaction. A study has shown that there is only 1 anaphylactic reaction in about a million immunisations.

An anaphylactic reaction is a severe and immediate allergic reaction that needs urgent medical attention. The people who give immunisations are trained to deal with anaphylactic reactions and children recover completely with treatment.

There are very few reasons why babies cannot be immunised. Vaccines should not be given to babies who have had a confirmed anaphylactic reaction to either a previous dose of the vaccine, or to neomycin, streptomycin or polymyxin B (antibiotics that may be added to vaccines in very tiny amounts).

Immunosuppressed children

In general, children who are ‘immunosuppressed’ should not receive live vaccines.

Children who are immunosuppressed include those whose immune system does not work properly because they are undergoing treatment for a serious condition such as a transplant or cancer, or who have any condition which affects the immune system, such as severe primary immunodeficiency. Primary immunodeficiencies are very rare diseases that mean you are more likely to catch infections. They are usually caused by a faulty gene and are diagnosed soon after birth

If this applies to your child, you must tell your doctor, practice nurse or health visitor before the immunisation.

They will need to get specialist advice on using live vaccines such as MMR, rotavirus vaccine and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG).

There are no other reasons why vaccines should definitely not be given.

If you are not sure if your child has had all their routine vaccinations, check their personal health record (Red Book) or contact the GP practice.  

If your child is going abroad, make sure their routine immunisations are up to date. Your child may also need extra immunisations and you may also need to take other precautions.

Your doctor’s surgery or clinic will send you an appointment for you to bring your baby for their immunisations. Most surgeries and health centres run special immunisation or baby clinics. If you can’t get to the clinic, contact the surgery to make another appointment. All childhood immunisations are free. You can also find details in your child’s Red Book.

If you miss the appointment or need to delay the immunisation, make a new appointment. You can pick up the immunisation schedule where it stopped without having to start again.

Rotavirus vaccine can only be started in babies up to 15 weeks of age and no dose of the vaccine can be given over 24 weeks of age.

The MMRV vaccine helps protect children against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (varicella). It's usually given to children when they are 12 months and 18 months old. Some older children are also offered it.

Information:

MMRV has replaced the MMR vaccine in the NHS vaccination schedule.

The MMR vaccine is still available for older children and adults born on or before 31 December 2019 who were not vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella when they were younger.

What the MMRV vaccine is for

The MMRV vaccine helps protect against:

• measles
• mumps
• rubella (german measles)
• chickenpox

These infections spread very easily between people and can lead to serious problems including meningitis, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), pneumonia, and hearing loss.

Who should have the MMRV vaccine

The MMRV vaccine is recommended for young children as part of the NHS vaccination schedule.

The number of doses children are given depends on when they were born. Some older children will have already had 1 or 2 doses of the MMR vaccine which also protects against measles, mumps and rubella, but not chickenpox.

Find out more on the NHS website.