The NHS Childhood Immunisation Program - September 2025

[Bell ringing] Hello and welcome to Coffee Break, the audio equivalent of a cuddle and a hug after your jabs. Today we're talking about one of the most important things we can do in general practice protecting children through immunisation. The NHS childhood immunisation schedule might not be something people think about every day, but it is one of the greatest success stories in public health. So, from measles and mumps to meningitis and hooping cough, these vaccines save lives, they prevent serious illness and they protect whole communities. And yet with so much information and misinformation out there, it's more important than ever to understand what's offered, when and why it matters. In this episode we'll walk through the schedule, answer questions and talk about the science and reassurance behind each jab. Because every appointment isn't just about a needle, it's about giving your child the best possible start in life. I'm Dr Jeff Hampe and I'm Dr Sam again me. And this is season one of Coffee Break. We are two general practitioners from beautiful dogs into the United Kingdom and we are happy to have you here with us for another coffee break. In our show we give you helpful and useful health and wellness information in short and easily digestible episodes. That's right and hopefully in a fun and enjoyable way as well. In today's VARth Sea of Health Information we hope to be your trusty island of reliable and impartial independent, unbiased information. And we may even have some guests with us to help. So sit back and enjoy. Hey Coffee Break! So booking your child in for their immunizations in the UK is considered to be a very important decision to make and one that is called upon for each parent. So if you're not sure about immunizations in any way shape or form, we want to talk to you and want to do that as soon as possible. Immunizations are effective and they are an essential way to protect your child from serious and sometimes life threatening diseases, which include measles, mumps, rebella, polio, meningitis, soup and cough and there are others. Indeed and these illnesses while now rare in the UK thanks to decades of immunization they can still cause significant harm and even death if they make a comeback which they can, especially when immunization rates drop. Yeah, that's really important to know is that these infections, the original organisms are still around. It's just that they're not being infected by them because of the immunity as we've developed as a population. So how do they work? Well, immunizations work by intentionally helping the body develop an immunity without having to suffer the disease itself. So that means that your child will get the benefit of protection without the risk of complications. Exactly. And although it seems very, very complicated, the NHS childhood immunization schedule is actually carefully designed to offer the correct vaccines at the correct time. And this starts now from as early as eight weeks of age because this is when children are actually at their most vulnerable. And by sticking to this schedule you ensure your child builds strong immunity when they need it the most. Absolutely. And the benefit goes well beyond the individual. Immunizations also help build up what is called herd immunity and when enough people in the community are immunized, then the diseases will struggle to spread. And this therefore protects those who are at the most vulnerable phase of their lives as well. So babies who are too young to be vaccinated, the elderly who may have a weak and immune system. And again, other people with weak and immune systems. So those with chronic health conditions that may not be able to be immunized themselves or may have a weak and immune system from that condition. Exactly. And we always at medical school told the importance of herd immunity with immunizations and immunizations don't just help the individual but they help to test everybody in the community. Moreover, the UK's immunization program is free. It's run by the NHS and it is supported by decades of scientific research, regulatory oversight and importantly ongoing monitoring. Every immunization used on the NHS immunization program is thoroughly tested and continues to be monitored to ensure it is appropriate and beneficial. Brilliant. Absolutely. So it is fair to say that immunizations can pull side effects and we talked about that and I'll code and flu the immunization podcast. But the benefits still far away the small risk of side effects which are often mild and short lived. For example, you often get a sore arm. We said this in the COVID and flu immunization code administration show. So arm very, very common slight fever as well, especially as your body creates an immune response. But the diseases themselves, if you haven't been vaccinated and you are unfortunate enough to catch the disease, they can have devastating consequences. So let's take measles for example, may cause just a transient rash and fever, but you can also get lifelong effects such as blindness, damage to the brain and in some cases it can cause death. And on that note, I wouldn't encourage anybody to look at something by Rol Dahl, the famous children's author, which was called measles, a dangerous illness, which was an open letter he wrote. And he wrote this action response to the death of his own daughter Olivia due to measles and it's quite an eye-opening read and that would definitely suggest everybody reads that. I think I haven't read it. I'm going to give that a read. So booking your child's immunization is quick and it's easy and you normally do that through your GP surgery. There are a few changes though on the sound from this summer. Yep, absolutely. So from this summer 2025, we're talking the second meningitis B immunization has been moved to an earlier age. So that more children are protected sooner. And also in 2026, we will see the second MMR dose being brought forwards to a young age. And I think that's the thing about the NHS UK immunization school. It's forever being monitored, it's being evaluated. And that means that there will be changes as time goes on. And these changes are made to make things more effective, to minimise a number of attendance as we talked about in the previous show. But it is an evolving program isn't it? And as a parent, you want to give your child the best possible start in life, don't you? And ensuring they're protected against these preventable diseases has got to be a fundamental part of that. Okay, so Jeff, what is your take-home point from our discussion today? I think one of my take-home points is that we always think about immunization as an individual thing. When actually that's so very important. But by immunising people, more people than that helps protect others who are at risk. This is this herd immunity concept. And let's potentially be who maybe can't be immunised, maybe those who are immunosuppressed, people with cancer, people with medications that affect their immune system. And babies who are too young to be immunised, these are all diseases and illnesses that can affect them. And illnesses and diseases aren't going to wait for specific people to determine who they're going to infect. So immunisation helps you, but it also helps others. Yeah, absolutely. And I suppose my take-home point would be cautious about anecdotes you might hear from others who may have had an experience related to one immunisation date process. And then it might be very easy to tar all the immunisations with the same brush after that, but everybody's experience is individual. Often there will be other reasons for someone having had maybe more side effects than expected, and it's worth discussing it with a professional before making a final decision. Exactly that if you've got any doubts, your clinician is always more than able to talk to you. And so if you have questions, you have to very talk to your doctor, talk to your nurse. We can go through any questions that you might have. This has been an episode of Coffee Break. We hope you have enjoyed it. And if you have, then we hope you will join us again for another Coffee Break soon. Remember, if you do want to get in touch with us, or if you have any ideas or suggestions, then please feel free to email us at the show@[email protected]. You can listen to us and subscribe to the show on any of the podcast platforms and via your computer, smartphone and home smart devices. We have used a variety of resources for the information in the show to try and ensure that it is up to date and the most applicable. We have also put any important links we've discussed in the show notes. Coffee Break is a Coffee Break production and is created, written and hosted by me, Dr Sam McGinley. and me.jepham. The editor and producer is Dr. Jepham. All the content we provide in the show is for general informational purposes only. The content does not constitute medical or healthcare advice. The content is valid in England at the time of recording. The content should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional medical or healthcare advice applicable to your specific circumstances. We advise that you always consult a qualified medical professional for any medical matters. (upbeat music)