Vaccinations & Immunisation

Vaccination is one of the most important things we can do to protect ourselves and our children against ill health. They prevent up to 3 million deaths worldwide every year.

Since vaccines were introduced in the UK, disease like smallpox, polio and tetanus that used to kill or disable millions of people are either gone or seen very rarely. Other disease like measles and diphtheria have been reduced by up to 99.9% since their vaccines were introduced.

However, if people stop having vaccines, it is possible for infectious disease to quickly spread again as immunity will decrease.

For a complete list of NHS vaccinations, please click here.

The NHS website relating to childhood immunisations provides lots of helpful information, assurance and guidance for parents who are preparing to vaccinate their children.

Shingles

Shingles is an infection of a nerve and the area of skin around it. It is caused by the herpes varicella-zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox.  Following chickenpox infection, the virus can lie dormant in the nervous tissue but may reappear following reactivation as shingles. It is possible to have shingles more than once.

There are changes to the national Shingles vaccination programme from 1 September 2023:

  • Patients aged 50 and over who are immunocompromised are eligible for 2 doses of Shingrix vaccinations, with the second dose given between 8 weeks and 6 months after the first
  • Patients aged 65 on or after 1 September 2023 (not before, and not aged 66 to 69) are eligible for 2 doses of Shingrix with the second dose given between 6 and 12 months after the first
  • Patients aged 70 to 79, who will either receive a single vaccination of Zostavax or 2 doses of Shingrix with the second dose given between 6 and 12 months after the first.

The NHS Shingles Vaccination Programme provides a free vaccination to all eligible patients, and the vaccination is provided by your practice.  You will be invited for your vaccination, but if you are eligible and want to arrange your vaccine appointment, please contact the practice on 01749 812310 or via AskMyGP.

Measles - catch up campaign for unvaccinated children & adults

NHS England urges those unprotected against measles to come forward for their vaccinations

Measles cases are continuing to rise across England, with a number of unvaccinated children and adults requiring hospital as infections take hold.

This month, millions of parents and carers in England are being contacted by the NHS to book their children in for their missed measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine as part of a major new campaign to protect children from becoming seriously unwell.

NHS figures show almost 3 million children under the age of 16 years are either unprotected or not fully protected and at risk of catching these serious and completely preventable diseases.

Measles is not just a childhood disease and can be serious at any age. If caught during pregnancy it can be very serious causing stillbirth, miscarriage and low birth weight and NHS bosses are also urging young adults to catch up on any missed doses before thinking about starting a family.

Two doses of the safe and effective MMR vaccine are needed for maximum life-long protection, with the first dose given around the child’s first birthday, and the second dose given at around three years and four months old.

However, anyone can catch up at any age on any missed doses and it’s never too late to protect yourself.  In addition to the childhood catch up, any patient aged 17 to 30 years of age will be invited to receive their MMR vaccination via text message with the option to self-book an appointment.

If you or your child have not had both dose of the MMR vaccine contact the GP surgery to book an appointment as soon as possible and catch up.

For further information about Measles please visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles/

For further information about the MMR vaccine, please see this leaflet: MMR For All Leaflet