Vaccinations

Childhood immunisations

One of the most important things that a parent can do for their child is to make sure that they have all their routine childhood vaccinations. It’s the most effective way of keeping them protected against infectious diseases.

Ideally, children should have their jabs at the right age to protect them as early as possible and minimise the risk of infection.

Find out which jabs your child needs, when they need them, and what the benefits of each jab are.

For more information please visit the websites below:

Vaccinations for you and your family – NHS Choices

Flu vaccinations

Seasonal flu is a highly infectious illness caused by a flu virus. The virus infects your lungs and upper airways, causing a sudden high temperature and general aches and pains.

You could also lose your appetite, feel nauseous and have a dry cough. Symptoms can last for up to a week.

We offer ‘at risk’ groups the flu vaccine at a certain time each year to protect you against the flu virus.

You may be invited for a flu jab if you are:

  • over 65 years of age
  • pregnant

or have:

  • a serious heart or chest complaint, including asthma
  • serious kidney disease
  • diabetes
  • lowered immunity due to disease or treatment such as steroid medication or cancer treatment
  • if you have ever had a stroke
  • If you have any queries please contact the surgery.

Flu and the Flu Vaccine – NHS Choices

Shingles

What is shingles? Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus (varicella-zoster virus) in people who have previously had chickenpox. It begins with a burning sensation in the skin, followed by a rash of very painful fluid-filled blisters that can then burst and turn into sores before healing. Often an area on just one side of the body is affected, usually the chest but sometimes the head, face and eye.

A vaccine to prevent shingles, a common, painful skin disease is available on the NHS to people in their 70s. The shingles vaccine is given as a single injection into the upper arm. Unlike the flu jab, you’ll only need to have the vaccination once and you can have it at any time of the year. The shingles vaccine is expected to reduce your risk of getting shingles. If you do go on to have the disease, your symptoms may be milder and the illness shorter. Shingles can be very painful and uncomfortable. Some people are left with pain lasting for years after the initial rash has healed. Shingles is also fatal for around 1 in 1,000 over-70s who develop it

A vaccine to prevent shingles, a common, painful skin disease is available on the NHS to people in their 70s. The shingles vaccine is given as a single injection into the upper arm. Unlike the flu jab, you’ll only need to have the vaccination once and you can have it at any time of the year. The shingles vaccine is expected to reduce your risk of getting shingles. If you do go on to have the disease, your symptoms may be milder and the illness shorter. Shingles can be very painful and uncomfortable. Some people are left with pain lasting for years after the initial rash has healed. Shingles is also fatal for around 1 in 1,000 over-70s who develop it

Pneumococcal vaccine

The pneumococcal vaccine (or ‘pneumo jab’ or pneumonia vaccine as it’s also known) protects against pneumococcal infections.

Pneumococcal infections are caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae and can lead to pneumonia, septicaemia (a kind of blood poisoning) and meningitis.

Read more about why the pneumococcal vaccination is needed.

A pneumococcal infection can affect anyone. However, some people need the pneumococcal vaccination because they are at higher risk of complications. These include:

  • all children under the age of two
  • adults aged 65 or over
  • children and adults with certain long-term health conditions, such as a serious heart or kidney condition

What is a Vaccine and how do they work?

A vaccine is a type of medicine that trains the body’s immune system so that it can fight a disease it has not come into contact with before. Vaccines are designed to prevent disease, rather than treat a disease once you have caught it.

To understand how vaccines work, it helps to look first at how the immune system works, because vaccines harness the natural activity of your immune system. This short animation explains how vaccines enable the body to make the right sort of antibodies to fight a particular disease. 

What is a vaccine, and how do vaccines work? | Vaccine Knowledge Project (ox.ac.uk)

Click to find out more.