It is important to make sure that your child has all their routine vaccinations. If you are unsure which vaccines they have had or if they are up to date then you should check their Red Book or contact your GP surgery to find out.
It is important that your baby has their immunisations at the right age – the first ones are given at eight weeks old. Many diseases can be particularly serious in young babies. It is important to make sure babies are protected as early as possible to prevent them catching the diseases.
Children receive many vaccines by age one, and for some parents there are concerns that it may overwhelm the child’s immune system. However, this is not true, as studies have shown there are no harmful effects from having several vaccines at the same time. This also means babies are protected from a wider range of infections from an earlier age and will require fewer trips to the doctor.
Your child’s vaccine should be postponed if they’re ill and have a fever (high temperature). However, you don’t have to avoid or delay your child’s vaccination if they just have a mild illness without a fever, such as a cough or cold.
Asthma, eczema, hay fever, food intolerances and allergies do not prevent your child having any vaccine in the childhood immunisation programme. Your baby can still be vaccinated if they have a history of seizures or convulsions. Vaccines can help prevent these as some diseases, such as measles, mumps and rubella can cause seizures.
It’s important for you and your family to get vaccinated so that you can help keep yourselves and your community healthy. When a high percentage of the population is protected against a disease through vaccination, it becomes harder for the disease to pass between people who have not been vaccinated and so makes it more difficult to spread. This concept is called herd immunity.
Herd immunity is particularly important as not everyone can get vaccinated, but those who can are able to help protect those who cannot. Some people are unable to get vaccinated because they’re too ill, too young (for some specific vaccines only), have immune system problems, or are having treatment for a condition or disease that damages their immune system.
In recent years, there has been a small but steady fall in the number of parents getting their children vaccinated. Although the drop is small, it does not take much for herd immunity to be less effective and for outbreaks to emerge. Whilst herd immunity is important, the best way to protect someone against a disease is to vaccinate them directly. If someone who is unvaccinated does come in to contact with a certain disease, then it is highly likely they will become infected.
Getting your child vaccinated is the best way to protect them from a wide range of infectious diseases that could otherwise cause serious health problems. It is important that we see vaccination rates climb, to make sure there is no possibility in a resurgence of diseases that are no longer in circulation.
If you have any questions, speak to your practice nurse or health visitor.