Routine childhood immunisation

Your child will be offered a number of recommended routine immunisations during childhood.This is so they are protected against serious diseases.

After clean water, immunisation is the most effective public health intervention in the world for saving lives and promoting good health.

Attending your child’s immunisation appointments will help make sure you and your child stay healthy.

If you are not sure if your child is up to date with their immunisations or have questions, you can contact your GP surgery to check and to book in any outstanding immunisations.

It is never too late catch up with your child’s immunisations and you can book appointments for missed vaccinations at any time. The sooner your child is up to date with their routine imunisations, the better.

Unregistered children

If you are not registered with a GP, you can register on the NHS website.

For more advice on the immunisations your child will be offered, and support to register with a GP, you can call Doctors of the World’s advice line on 0808 1647 686. This is free to call and open from 10am to 12pm (midday), Monday to Thursday.

Immunisation schedule

Your GP practice or school will contact you when any vaccinations are due. For school aged children, you will receive a consent form from your child's school.

You can attend one of the catch-up clinics listed if your child has missed any of the following vaccinations at school:

• Flu vaccinations: reception to year 6
• HPV: year 8 to year 13
• DTP and ACWY: year 9 to year 13
• MMR: year 8 to year 9
• Polio Booster: 6 to 9-year-olds

Vaccination UK community clinic dates

If you would like to attend one of the following dates, please either call 0207 613 9422 or alternatively email towerhamlets@v-uk.co.uk to make an appointment.

Vaccinations during pregnancy

For more information on vaccinations offered during pregnancy, visit the NHS website.

Key contacts

GP surgeries, health visiting or school nursing teams and children’s centres can all provide additional information and advice. Alternatively, see the NHS vaccination scheduleor NHS Choices.

Family Information Service

TheFamily Information Service(FIS) provides free, impartial information and advice on a variety of services for children and young people (from birth to 25 years old), parents and families.

The service operates a telephone helpline and drop-in service from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Tel:020 7364 6495
Email:fis@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Health Visting Service

To contact your local health visiting service call 0204 551 1414.

Midwifery

For more information about the immunisation offered during pregnancy you can contact your local midwifery immunisation team on 0203 594 2585.

Vaccination UK

Vaccination UK provide immunisations to school aged children in Tower Hamlets and across the country. The immunisations include flu, HPV and MMR and they take place in schools.

If you want to find out more about the immunisations they offer you can visit their website.

Red Book

Not long after your child is born you will receive a Personal Child Health Record, also known as the 'Red Book'. This will be used to keep a record of your child’s weight, height and immunisations. You will be able to check your child's Red Book to see which vaccinations they have had and also find contact details for your local health visiting team.

You can now register for an electronic Redbook via eRedbook - The Digital Red Book For Parents.

Other key immunisations

Polio vaccination

The number of children vaccinated for polio in London has been lower than it should be, so children aged 1 to 9 years old in London have recently been offered another dose as part of a polio booster programme.

This was offered aseither a booster on top of your child’s routine immunisations or as a catch up dose.

The polio booster programme has now been paused, but children should continue to get their routine polio vaccinations. You can contact your GP surgery or check your child's personal child health record (red book) to see if they are up to date.

If they are not, you can book an appointment with your GP surgery to get them vaccinated free on the NHS.

For information on what polio is, who is eligible and the polio booster vaccination, please see the NHS website.

Flu vaccination for children

Flu can be very serious,causing thousands of hospitalisations and hundreds of deaths in the UK every winter. Vaccinating children against flu protects them and the community because children can spread flu easily.

For more information on the flu vaccination programme being offered to children this year, see the NHS website.

Useful external links

• NHS Choices
• Video on MMR vaccination in Somali with English subtitles
• NHS Child flu vaccination
• PHE flu video
• Childhood immunisation schedule (NHS)
• Start 4 Life Immunisations
• Vaccine Safety Information
• Herd Immunity film