Childhood Immunisation Programme
(0 to school age)
One of the most important decision parents have to make is whether to have their child immunised, and this can sometimes feel a difficult decision. This web page aims to provide parents, carers, and young people with information about the National routine childhood immunisation programme and how it is delivered in Derbyshire County.
Vaccination and immunisation programmes are one of the single most important ways of protecting children against serious life threatening infectious diseases. Immunisation not only provides protection for individual children, but can also help control and even wipe out a disease within the population if enough people are immunised against a disease.
This is known as 'herd immunity'. Herd immunity is particularly important as some individuals cannot be immunised due to being too young or having underlying health problems.
In the UK the National routine childhood immunisation programme offers protection against the following infections:
- Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio (DTaP/IPV) and Haemophilis Influenza B (Hib)
- Pneumococcal conjugate
- Meningococcal C (Men C)
- Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)
- Meningococcal B (MenB)2
These immunisations are offered to some babies, children and young people at varying ages. This is the NHS Immunisation site and provides information for parents, careers, children and young people about all childhood immunisations within the UK schedule, including links to other sites, publications, research papers and news updates
The vaccinations are administered by the practice nurse.
Health visitors are specialist public health nurses who are available to advise parents on all aspects of the childhood routine immunisation programme. They will routinely talk to all new parents about immunisations and can be contacted through the local GP surgery.
School nurses are also a source of specialist advice and every school will have a named school nurse.
Useful links:
NHS Choices Immunisations. Provides information for parents, careers, children and young people about all childhood immunisations within the UK schedule, including links to other sites, publications, research papers and news updates.
Sense About Science is an independent charitable trust that provides independent information about scientific issues which effect society including vaccinations.
The Health Protection Agency is an arm's length body of the Department of Health. Their main function is to 'protect the community (or any part of the community) against infectious diseases and other dangers to health' (HPA Act 2004). The website provides detailed information about infectious diseases, their spread as well as immunisation uptake rates across the United Kingdom.