Childhood Illnesses

Baby and Childhood Immunisations

Vaccinations protect you, your child and family from many serious diseases. They help protect other people who can’t have vaccinations themselves too. Some people get mild side-effects, but these usually don’t last long.

Vaccinations are safe and sometimes can get rid of a disease totally.

Vaccines teach your immune system how to create antibodies that protect you from diseases.
It's much safer for your immune system to learn this through vaccination than by catching the diseases and treating them.
Once your immune system knows how to fight a disease, it can often protect you for many years.
Babies have their first vaccinations at 8 weeks, then they have them every four weeks until they are 16 weeks old. It’s safe to give babies and children several vaccines at a time.

How Vaccines Work

When your child has a vaccine they develop antibodies to protect against the disease. After this, if your child comes into contact with the disease, their body will recognise it and know how to fight against it with those antibodies.

Childhood Vaccination Schedule

6-in-1 - 1st Dose

This protects against Diphtheria, Hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenza type B, Polio, Tetanus and Whooping Cough.

Your baby needs three doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.

Rotavirus - 1st Dose

This is given as a liquid straight into the baby’s mouth. It protects against a highly infectious and distressing tummy bug.

Your baby needs two doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.

Meningitis B - 1st Dose

This vaccine can prevent meningitis and blood poisoning, which can cause brain damage or even death.

Your baby needs three doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.
6-in-1 - 2nd Dose

This protects against Diphtheria, Hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenza type B, Polio, Tetanus and Whooping Cough.

Your baby needs three doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.

Pneumococcal (PCV) - 1st Dose

This is sometimes known as the pneumonia vaccine and protects against some forms of blood poisoning and meningitis too.

Your baby needs two doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.

Rotavirus - 2nd Dose

This is given as a liquid straight into the baby’s mouth. It protects against a highly infectious and distressing tummy bug.

Your baby needs two doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.
6-in-1 - 3rd Dose

This protects against diphtheria, Hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenza type B, Polio, Tetanus and Whooping Cough.

Your baby needs three doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.

Men B - 2nd Dose

This vaccine can prevent meningitis and blood poisoning, which can cause brain damage or even death.

Your baby needs three doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.
Hib/MenC

This boosts protection against Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) and Meningitis C. Both diseases can cause meningitis and blood poisoning.

Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) - 1st Dose

This is a safe and effective vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella in one injection.

Measles, mumps and rubella can be very serious for babies and children and make them very unwell.

They are all very catching so it is important that your child is vaccinated with the two doses they are offered. This gives them the best protection and also helps prevent passing illnesses on to other children or pregnant people.

If you are planning a pregnancy and have not had two doses of MMR vaccine please see your GP who can give you the catch-up doses you require.

Pneumococcal (PCV) - 2nd Dose

This is sometimes known as the pneumonia vaccine and protects against some forms of blood poisoning and meningitis too.

Your baby needs two doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.

Men B - 3rd Dose

This vaccine can prevent serious meningitis and blood poisoning, which can cause brain damage or even death.

Your baby needs three doses to ensure they develop strong immunity.
Flu vaccine - Yearly

Children with long-term health conditions should get the flu vaccine every year.

All 2 and 3 year-olds, and primary school children are routinely able to receive the vaccine. For most children, this will a nasal spray, but a small number of children who are not able to have the spray may have the injection.

If a child misses a school session, either because they were off on the day of visit or they are not attending school for any reason, parents/carers should be advised to contact the CSAIS provider directly to arrange for vaccination in a scheduled community clinic. The contact details are:

0300 555 5055- option 2, or email hct.csaisnorfolk@nhs.net
Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) - 2nd Dose

This is a safe and effective vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella in one injection.

Measles, mumps and rubella can be very serious for babies and children and make them very unwell.

They are all very catching so it is important that your child is vaccinated with the two doses they are offered. This gives them the best protection and also helps prevent passing illnesses on to other children or pregnant people.

If you are planning a pregnancy and have not had two doses of MMR vaccine please see your GP who can give you the catch-up doses you require.

4-in-1 Pre-school Booster

This increases children’s immunity to Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough and Polio.

There will be no more routine injected vaccinations until high school!
3-in-1 Teenage Booster

This gives your child their final protection from Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio. It is given in Year 9 in Norfolk, at high school at the same time as Men ACWY.

MenACWY

This is given at the same time as the 3-in-1 booster to Year 9 students in Norfolk. It is important that ‘Fresher’ students are protected against meningitis and blood poisoning which spread easily in residential settings such as university.

Young people can also receive this from their GP up to the age of 25.
BCG tuberculosis (TB)

The BCG vaccination is no longer given routinely in the UK.

BCG protects babies again tuberculosis (TB). In the UK, only babies who are likely to come into contact with someone with TB will be offered the BCG vaccination. In Norfolk, this is;
- Babies with parents or grandparents from a country with high rates of TB.
- Babies who are likely to spend time in these countries.
- Babies who have a family member who has TB, or has had it in the past.
The vaccination is usually given at birth while your baby is still in hospital, but it can be given later. If you think that your baby or child should have the BCG vaccination, talk to your GP, or call Just One Number to speak to a health professional.

Read more about tuberculosis rates

Dive Deeper

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Top Tips

Do:

Remember to take your child's personal child health record (PCHR) to appointments. This is usually called the "Red Book".
Call the practice or clinic to let them know if someone else is taking your child for vaccinations – or give the person a letter with your contact details.
Dress your baby in clothes that are easy to remove. Babies under 12 months have injections in the thigh.
Dress toddlers and older children in loose or short sleeves tops. They have their injections in the arm.
Try to stay calm during the vaccination. It's natural to worry but it might make your child anxious and restless.
Let your child know what's going to happen in simple language. For example you could say "you may feel a sharp scratch but that will go away very fast".
Hold your child on your knee during the injection. If you're worried about seeing injections you could ask a nurse or another member of staff to hold them for you.

Don’t:

Rush to get to your appointment. Giving yourself plenty of time can help you and your child avoid feeling stressed and anxious.
Be worried about speaking to the nurse or doctor, they can answer any questions you have about vaccination.

Side Effects

Your baby or child may cry for a little while after a vaccination, but they should feel better after a cuddle. Sometimes the area where the needle goes in can be sore and red for 2 to 3 days. This should go away on its own.

Some children may also develop a high temperature but this can usually be managed at home.

Read about how to manage a temperature at home

Myth Busting

Your baby can still have their vaccinations if:

They have a minor illness without a high temperature – such as a cold.
They have allergies, asthma, eczema or food intolerances.
They were born prematurely.

It's really important that premature babies still have their vaccinations from 8 weeks old. They may be at higher risk of catching infections if you wait.

It may seem very early to give a vaccination to such a tiny baby. But many scientific studies have shown that it's a good time to give them vaccines.

Vaccines do not

Cause autism – studies have found no evidence of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
Overload or weaken the immune system – it's safe to give children several vaccines at a time and this reduces the amount of injections they need.
Cause allergies or any other conditions – all the current evidence tells us that vaccinating is safer than not vaccinating.
Contain mercury (thiomersal).
Contain any ingredients that cause harm in such small amounts – but speak to your doctor if you have any known allergies such as eggs or gelatine.

Measles and Mumps Increase

Measles and mumps are starting to appear again in England, even though the MMR vaccine is safe and protects against both diseases.

Measles and mumps cases in England have nearly doubled in recent years. The table below shows how many cases of measles and mumps there have been in England in 2016 and 2018.

Year Measles Mumps

2016 541 573

2018 989 1088

If 95% of children receive the MMR vaccine, it's possible to get rid of measles.

However, measles, mumps and rubella can quickly spread again if fewer than 90% of people are vaccinated.

Downloads

Routine Immunisation Schedule

Download

Pneumococcal Vaccination (PVC) Schedule

Download

Pre-School Immunisations Age 2-5 Years

Download

Who can Help?

You can contact the Healthy Child Programme by calling Just One Number on 0300 300 0123 or texting Parentline on 07520 631590. Our opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays) and 9am-1pm on Saturdays.

For questions or queries about school age immunisations you can contact Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust by calling 0300 555 5055 and selecting Option 2 or emailing hct.csaisnorfolk@nhs.net

If you are 11-19 you can text ChatHealth on 07480 635060 for confidential advice from one of our team.

The Lullaby Trust - Baby Check App- This app has simple checks that you can do if your baby is ill and helps you think about whether they need to see a doctor or health professional.

You can speak to other Norfolk parents and carers by clicking our online community forum below.

Click here to speak with other parents & carers

Information, advice, services and activities across Norfolk

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Childhood Illnesses

Baby and Childhood Immunisations

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1 Year Old

2 - 17 Years

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