Child Immunisation

Child Immunisation Knowledge
The nurses and doctors at Baldwins Lane Surgery encourage you to bring your child for their complete immunisation schedule. Immunisation is proved to be safe and saves lives. Please read the following information and click the link below for access to independent research. If you would like to speak to someone about this call us and ask for a phone call to discuss child immunisation.

Background
Until the twentieth century, infectious diseases were the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and this is still the case in much of the developing world. Immunisation has played a central role in radically reducing the incidence of many dangerous diseases, and some diseases have been wiped out entirely (e.g. smallpox). Some infectious diseases can lead to serious health complications including brain damage, organ failure and death. Your child’s immune system needs help to fight those diseases. Immunisation gives protection against some infectious diseases. Vaccines stimulate the body to produce antibodies that fight infection.

Multiple vaccinations
From birth, babies’ immune systems protect them from the germs that surround them. Without this protection, babies would not be able to cope with the tens of thousands of bacteria and viruses that cover their skin, nose, throat and intestines. This protection carries on throughout life.
Studies have shown that it is safe to have several vaccinations at the same time and your baby will be protected from some very serious infections.

Why childhood immunisation is important
Immunisation prepares the body to fight serious infections that might happen in the future. Young babies are very vulnerable to infections, so they need to be protected as early as possible.
Your child needs several different vaccines to be fully protected, so it’s important to complete their childhood immunisation programme.

What can happen when a child isn’t immunised
Due to the high number of children receiving vaccinations in the UK over the past couple of decades, many serious childhood infectious diseases have disappeared altogether, like diphtheria, polio or tetanus or been dramatically reduced, such as measles and whooping cough. Unless immunisation rates remain high, many of these serious diseases will return to the UK from parts of the world where they still occur, this is happening at the moment with polio. If this happens, then children living in the UK that are not vaccinated will be at risk of these infections, their complications and even death.
Remember there are no treatments or cures for diseases like measles, mumps and polio. The only proven way to protect your child is with vaccines.

To get independent information about vaccines and infectious diseases visit the Vaccine Knowledge Project.

To download the Vaccine Knowledge App, which help you to remember when your children need their vaccines, please visit the app store here.

To see the current child immunisation schedule click here:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/nhs-vaccinations-and-when-to-have-them/