Vaccination and immunisation
- Routine vaccinations are offered free of charge on the NHS to all residents in the UK.
- Routine vaccinations provide essential protection against potentially life-threatening diseases.
- If you or your child have missed a vaccination appointment please ring your GP practice to re-book.
- You do not need to contact your GP regarding vaccinations that are normally delivered through schools, as you will be contacted separately about this by the school-age immunisation team.
Last updated: 29 August 2024
Contents
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) - Vaccination programme introduction
- Whooping cough update
- Measles update
- Why vaccinations are important, safe and how they work
- Where to go for vaccinations and what to do about missed vaccination
- What vaccinations are routinely available and at what age should they be given?
- Further vaccinations
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) - Vaccination programme introduction
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes lots of respiratory illness each winter. While it results in mild symptoms for many, it can be very dangerous for babies and the elderly. Each year 30,000 children under 5 years old and 9,000 over 75 year olds need hospital treatment for RSV in the UK each year.
From 1 September 2024 RSV vaccination will be offered to older adults and to pregnant women to protect their newborn babies.
You can read more about RSV on the NHS website.
Further information can be found at What is RSV and is there a vaccine?
Babies are particularly vulnerable to RSV lung infections as they have small airways and have limited immunity against the virus. RSV infection in infants can cause a condition called bronchiolitis which is inflammation and blockage of the small air tubes in the lung. Infants with severe bronchiolitis may need intensive care and the infection can be fatal.
From 1 September 2024, all women who are 28 weeks or more pregnant will be offered a single dose of the RSV vaccine to offer their newborn babies the best protection against the illness. The vaccine boosts your immune system to produce more antibodies against the virus, and these then pass through the placenta to help protect your baby from the day they are born.
The RSV vaccine is free and has been approved for safety and effectiveness by regulators in the UK, Europe and the USA. While the UK programme is new, it has been given to over 100,000 pregnant women in the USA.
If you are pregnant, speak to your midwife about getting the RSV vaccine. You can also get it from your GP.
It is important to get the RSV vaccine during every pregnancy to best protect your children.
RSV can also be severe in older adults, causing pneumonia and flare-ups of existing lung diseases. A single dose of vaccine will help to boost protection as your risk of serious RSV infection increases.
Everyone turning 75 years old on or after the 1 September 2024 will be offered a single dose of RSV vaccine by their GP. The vaccine will also be offered to people who are already aged 75 to 79 years old on 1 September 2024. The RSV vaccine will be given all year round.
Whooping cough - a national concern
Whooping cough (pertussis) cases remain high across the country. More than 10 000 cases were confirmed in England between January and June 2024 (compared to about 850 in the whole of 2023).
Babies who are too young to start their vaccinations are at greatest risk. Young babies with whooping cough often become very unwell and most will be admitted to hospital. When whooping cough is particularly severe, they can die. Tragically, 9 babies have died this year after developing the disease.
Whooping cough is a bacterial infection of the lungs and airways. It spreads very easily through coughing and sneezing and can cause serious health problems, especially in young babies.
Vaccination is the best defence against whooping cough. Vaccine uptake levels have fallen in recent years amongst pregnant women, babies and young children.
The whooping cough vaccine is given as part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule in the UK at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age with a booster offered at preschool age.
Vaccinations for babies and young children are provided by local GP surgeries. Anyone whose child has missed a vaccine is encouraged to contact their GP surgery to catch up.
Pregnant women can help protect their babies by getting vaccinated. When you have the whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy, your body produces antibodies to protect against whooping cough. These antibodies pass to your baby through the placenta giving your baby high levels of protection until they're able to have their own whooping cough vaccination from 8 weeks old.
Vaccination of pregnant women has been shown to be around 90% effective in preventing whooping cough cases and hospital admissions in young babies and over 90% effective at preventing infant deaths.
- Vaccines can be given from as early as 16 weeks and women remain eligible beyond 32 weeks until they give birth.
- It is important to be vaccinated with every pregnancy.
- Mums-to-be can contact their midwife or GP surgery if they have reached week 20 of their pregnancy and are unsure whether they have had the vaccine.
- You can still have the vaccine in late pregnancy but it may not be as effective because there is less time for protection from the mother to pass to their baby.
- You can also receive the vaccine after delivery, for up to 8 weeks until their baby is old enough to get their first dose. This can help protect the mother from pertussis, reducing the chance that their baby will be exposed to the infection.
Further information on whopping cough can be found on the whooping cough NHS webpage.
Measles - are you protected?
Measles infections remain a concern in England and there are currently outbreaks and clusters in parts of the country. Measles has the perfect opportunity to take hold in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated communities and cause outbreaks in settings such as schools and universities, especially when the new school year begins from September onwards, when young people will be in close contact regularly.
The Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is the safest and most effective protection against measles. Two doses of the vaccine give 99% protection against measles.
It's never too late to catch up, and people can get the MMR vaccine for free on the NHS whatever their age through their GP. Please check your own and your family's MMR status and get vaccinated if you have not had two doses.
It's especially important to check you've had both doses if you:
- attend school, college or university
- are going to travel abroad
- are planning a pregnancy
- are a frontline health or social care worker
Measles is a highly infectious disease that can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia, meningitis, and on rare occasions, it can be fatal. Further information about Measles and the MMR vaccine can be found on the NHS measles webpage and the NHS MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine webpage.
Why vaccinations are important, safe and how they work
"The two public health interventions that have had the greatest impact on the world's health are clean water and vaccines." World Health Organisation.
Vaccination is the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and children against ill health. They prevent up to 3 million deaths worldwide every year.
Some vaccines protect us from infectious diseases passed from person to person, for example measles and some protect us from disease caught from bacteria in the environment, for example tetanus.
Since vaccines were introduced in the UK, diseases like smallpox, polio and tetanus that used to kill or disable millions of people are either gone or seen very rarely. Other diseases like measles and diphtheria have been reduced by up to 99.9% since their vaccines were introduced.
However, if people stop having vaccines, it's possible for infectious diseases to quickly spread again.
Infectious diseases are easily passed from person to person and entire communities can rapidly become infected. Having a vaccine also benefits your whole community through "herd immunity". If enough people are vaccinated, it's harder for the disease to spread to those people who cannot have vaccines. For example, people who are ill due to a health condition or have a weakened immune system because of cancer treatment.
Vaccines work by making us produce antibodies to fight disease without infecting us with the disease.
If the vaccinated person then comes into contact with the disease itself, their immune system will recognise it and immediately produce the antibodies they need to fight it.
Vaccination is the safest and most common way to gain immunity against a bacteria or virus that your body has yet to encounter.
Vaccines undergo rigorous safety testing before being introduced to make sure they will not harm us.
Once a vaccine is being used in the UK, it is constantly monitored for side effects by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Further information on why vaccinations are safe and important can be found on the NHS website.
Vaccines - are they safe for my child?
Where to go for vaccinations and what to do about missed vaccinations
Vaccinations for babies and young children before they start primary school are provided in your local GP surgery. If your child has missed any vaccinations, please contact your local GP surgery to arrange an appointment.
Vaccinations for children and young people of school-age are planned and delivered by local Immunisation Teams who will visit schools, education settings or provide local catch-up vaccination clinics.
If your child is home educated, your child can receive the vaccinations that would be routinely delivered in school by contacting the relevant immunisation team in the area that you live.
If any school aged vaccinations are missed, contact your local immunisation team for information on how you can catch up.
Vaccinations for adults, including pregnant women and individuals with underlying medical conditions are routinely provided by your local GP surgery.
The offer of polio, MMR and many other vaccinations are there for everyone so anyone who is not up to date with their vaccinations should contact their GP surgery to catch-up.
What vaccinations are routinely available and at what age should they be given?
A checklist and visual guide of the vaccines that are routinely offered to everyone in the UK free of charge on the NHS and the ages at which they should ideally be given, are available from UK Health Security Agency.
At 8 weeks, your baby will be immunised against:
- Diphtheria
- Tetanus
- Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Polio
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
- Hepatitis B
- Rotavirus
- Meningococcal group B disease (MenB)
These will be given as 2 injections and drops into the mouth.
At 12 weeks, your baby will be immunised against:
- Diphtheria
- Tetanus
- Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Polio
- Hib
- Hepatitis B
- Pneumococcal disease
- Rotavirus
These will be given as 2 injections and drops into the mouth.
At 16 weeks, your baby will be immunised against:
- diphtheria
- tetanus
- pertussis (whooping cough)
- polio
- Hib
- hepatitis B
- MenB
These will be given as 2 injections.
Further information is available about immunisations for babies up to 13 months of age.
At 1 years of age, your baby will be immunised against:
- Hib/Meningococcal group C (MenC)
- MenB
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
- Pneumococcal disease
Further information is available about immunisations at one year of age.
Between 2 and 5 years old, routine infections that children are immunised against before they start school include:
- Flu
- Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (Whooping cough) and Polio (dTaP/IPV or DTaP/IPV)
- Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)
Further information is available on the GOV.UK website about pre-school vaccinations from 2 to 5 years.
Young people between school age 12-14 years are immunised against:
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
- Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio (Td/IPV)
- Meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y (MenACWY)
Primary and secondary school age children between 4 – 16 years old (Reception to Year 11) are immunised against:
- Flu (annual, in the autumn term)
- This is a new offer for secondary school age groups, introduced 2023
The HPV vaccine helps protect boys and girls against cancers caused by HPV.
Boys and girls in year 8 are offered the HPV vaccine as part of the national programme for vaccination of children and young people.
This vaccine will be offered primarily at schools, by the local immunisation team. Please make sure you have completed your child's consent form.
If you are eligible and miss the HPV vaccine offered in year 8 at school, it's available for free on the NHS up until your 25th birthday .
Contact your local immunisation team or GP surgery and make an appointment to have the missed HPV vaccination course or second dose as soon as possible
Further information is available on the GOV.UK website about immunisations for young people.
Vaccinations that are recommended in pregnancy are:
- Flu (At any stage of pregnancy during flu season)
- Whooping cough (From 16 weeks gestation, all year round)
- RSV (from 28 weeks gestation, all year round)
Further information is available on the NHS website about vaccinations in pregnancy.
Vaccinations routinely given to adults are:
- Flu - for people who:
- are 65 years of age and older
- are pregnant
- have certain health conditions
- are in long stay residential care homes
- receive a carer's allowance or are the main carer for an older or disabled person
- live with someone more likely to get infections
- are frontline health and social workers
- Pneumococcal (PPV) – for people who:
- are 65 years of age and older
- have certain health conditions
- in certain occupations
- Shingles - for people who:
- are 65 years of age and older
- are 50 years of age and older, and have certain health conditions
- RSV - for people who:
- turn 75 on or after 1 September 2024
- are already aged 75-79 on 1 September 2024
Further information is available on the NHS vaccinations webpage.
NHS child vaccinations
Whooping cough vaccinations
Further vaccinations
Individuals with underlying medical conditions may need additional vaccines depending on their medical condition.
Further information is available on the NHS vaccinations webpage.
Getting the flu vaccination is a great way of protecting yourself from flu, especially for those who are at a greater risk of developing potentially serious complications from flu.
Further information about the flu vaccine and who can get a flu vaccine is available on the NHS flu vaccination webpage.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines are safe and effective. They give you the best protection against COVID-19.
Further information on COVID-19 vaccine and who can get a COVID-19 vaccine is available on the NHS coronavirus vaccination webpage.
In the UK, like many other countries, BCG is offered to babies and young children who are at higher risk of getting tuberculosis (TB). This includes babies and young children who live in an area with high rates of TB or with parents or grandparents from a country with high rates of TB.
Your midwife, health visitor, or hospital will usually let you know if the BCG vaccine is recommended for your baby.
For other children and adults, speak to your GP surgery if you think you or your child may need the BCG vaccine.
Further information is available in the GOV.UK TB, BCG and your baby leaflet and NHS BCG vaccine for tuberculosis webpage.
Each year in the UK, around 3,000 babies are born to women who have hepatitis B infection. This infection is caused by a virus that is spread through blood and attacks the liver.
During childbirth, your baby is in contact with your blood so there is a chance that the virus is passed on to your baby.
Hepatitis B infection can be prevented by vaccination. Babies born to hepatitis B infected mothers are given hepatitis vaccinations at birth, four weeks and 12 months old.
Further information is available in the GOV.UK Hepatitis B: screening and care in pregnancy and protecting your baby by vaccination leaflet.
The hepatitis B vaccine is also recommended for people who are at higher risk of catching or getting seriously ill from hepatitis B, including those in some occupational risk groups.
More information about the vaccine and who should receive it is available on the NHS hepatitis B vaccination webpage.
If you're planning to travel outside the UK, you may need to be vaccinated against some of the serious diseases found in other parts of the world. If possible, see the GP or a private travel clinic at least 6 to 8 weeks before you're due to travel.
You may be more at risk of some diseases, for example if you're:
- travelling in rural areas
- backpacking
- staying in hostels or camping
- on a long trip rather than a package holiday
- going on a pilgrimage
If you have a pre-existing health problem, this may make you more at risk of infection or complications from a travel-related illness.
Some countries require proof of vaccination. You can find out which vaccinations are necessary or recommended for the areas you'll be visiting on Travel Health Pro.
Some travel vaccinations are free on the NHS, and some you may have to pay for. Find out where to get your travel vaccines on the NHS travel vaccination advice webpage.
Useful links
- MMR for all
General leaflet on Measles, Mumps and Rubella for all ages. - What to expect after a vaccination
Information on common side effects for babies and young children up to 5. - Moved to the UK: migrant immunisations
Leaflet for migrants who have moved to the UK