Information from the NHS
Immunisation is the safest way of protecting children against serious diseases.
Some diseases can kill children or cause lasting damage to their health.
Immunisation prepares children’s bodies to fight off diseases if they come into contact with them. Vaccines stimulate the body to produce antibodies that fight infection. Immunisation is also known as ”vaccination”, “jab” or “injection”.
The Routine UK Immunisation programme starts at eight weeks old and continues into school until the age of around thirteen. The BCG can however be given from birth in the hospital or a local clinic if your baby is eligible. The Practice Nurse at your GP surgery will administer most Immunisation team take over when your child starts school. Your Practice Nurse, GP, Midwife, Health Visitor and School Immunisation Nurse are there to answer any questions you may have regarding any childhood immunisation.
Unless vaccine uptake remains high, many of the serious infections diseases we no longer have, will return from parts of the world where they still occur. If this happens, then children living locally that are not vaccinated will be at risk if these infections, their complications and even death.
There are vaccines to protect children against: Meningitis, whopping cough, measles and flu to name a few.
There are six Access Hubs in Merton that allow you to book into them when an appointment isn’t available with your own GP. Access Hubs operate during evenings (17:00-20:00 Monday to Friday) and on the weekend (Saturday 08:00-20:00 and Sundays in the East of the borough 08:00-20:00).
In addition, you can drop in to the New Horizon Centre to ask questions and access paper copies of childhood immunisations materials in a number of different community languages such as:
The next New Horizon Centre drop-in will be on Thursday 12th December from 2pm to 7pm.
The views expressed in this article are those of the Post author.
