With many children’s routine vaccination schedule interrupted by the pandemic, here is a reminder of which vaccinations children are supposed to have and when...
During the pandemic and the initial lockdown that started in March 2020, many children missed vital vaccination appointments despite many appointments still being available.
Many families may have missed the messages about the immunisation programme operating as usual amidst the strength of the overall ‘stay at home’ message.
Public Health England (PHE) has since been reminding parents how important it is that their children receive these life-saving vaccines.
While the number of children receiving vaccines has increased since April, uptake for the MMR and the six-in-one hexavalent vaccine is still 2.8% and 3.8% lower than year respectively, according to recent statistics from PHE.
As long as the child, and members of their household, are not showing any symptoms of coronavirus and have not been told to self-isolate, families are safe to attend these appoints as usual. Although they should take care to follow instructions on social distancing and wearing face masks as instructed.
Parents are being urged to attend these appointments to help prevent outbreaks of diseases like measles.
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisations at PHE, said: “Vaccines remain the best defence against infection. It’s essential that we maintain the highest possible uptake to prevent a resurgence of serious and sometimes life-threatening diseases. Routine vaccinations are still available throughout the pandemic – it’s vital that we continue to make it as easy and safe as possible for parents to take their children to appointments.”
NHS vaccination schedule:
Babies under one year old
| Eight weeks |
Six-in-one vaccine Rotavirus vaccine MenB |
| 12 weeks |
Six-in-one vaccine (2nd dose) Pneumococcal (PCV) vaccine Rotavirus vaccine (2nd dose) |
| 16 weeks |
Six-in-one vaccine (3rd dose) |
Children aged between one and five years old
| One-year-olds |
Hib/MecC (1st dose) MMR (1st dose) Pneumococcal vaccine (2nd dose) MenB (3rd dose) |
| 2-10 year olds | Annual flu vaccine |
| Three years and four months |
MMR (2nd dose) |
If any parents or carers of children attending your setting are worried that they may have missed some of their vaccination appointments, encourage them to contact their GP and book an appointment. While it’s always best for children to have their vaccinations on time, they can still catch up on most of them at a later date.
High temperatures after vaccinations
The government has updated its guidance on temperatures and coronavirus symptoms. The guidance says that a temperature is a common side effect after vaccinations and says that “isolation is not required unless coronavirus is suspected”.
