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Child Health

How well is your child protected against some of the illnesses they can catch during childhood?

Immunisation is the first line of defense against many childhood infections and so it is important to remember to keep your child’s vaccinations up to date, all of which are provided free by the NHS.

Recent changes to the childhood immunisation schedule mean that your child will receive even better protection against serious vaccine-preventable diseases than ever before.

The most important change is the introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine. This will prevent meningitis, blood poisoning, pneumonia and ear infections.

The vaccine will now automatically be included in the routine jabs offered to all babies beginning the programme at two months old.

There are also changes to the timings of some of the other vaccinations your child is offered through the new immunisation schedule. Protection is still offered against diphtheria, polio, tetanus, whooping cough and Hib (an infection that can cause meningitis). These jabs will be automatically offered to babies at two, three and four months old. Also during these first few months of life, babies will be offered two doses of Meningitis C ( MenC ) and the new pneumococcal vaccines.

A combined Hib/MenC booster is being added to the schedule at 12 months of age, giving longer-term protection. There are no changes to the timings of the combined MMR jab, which provides protection from measles, mumps and rubella. The first dose is offered at 13 months old, along with another dose of pneumococcal vaccine. Your child will be called for a final MMR jab before they start school .

This table outlines the new childhood immunisation schedule:

Don’t worry if all these changes sound confusing, you’ll automatically be informed how they affect your child when the time is right. In the meantime, if you want to find out more details visit the NHS immunisation website or speak to your Health Visitor, Practice Nurse, GP or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.