Statistics show that Gloucestershire has a poor take-up of pre-school vaccinations, which are vital to protecting our more vulnerable children. We want to use every opportunity we can to promote vaccination to parents and remind them to check their child’s status at their GP surgery:
Key Messages
- Make sure your child has the right vaccinations before they start school, when they come into contact with more potential sources of infection
- Highly infectious diseases and potentially fatal diseases such as measles, mumps and diphtheria are still in circulation – if not vaccinated, your child is at risk
- Not vaccinating your child puts them at risk. Vaccination protects children for life from a range of highly infectious and potentially deadly diseases. Speak to your GP surgery to make sure your child is protected
- A child must receive a number of doses of some vaccines to be fully protected. It is important to complete the vaccinations at the right times or your child may be vulnerable
- The reason some diseases have become rarer is because of the success of vaccination programmes. They can still come back and spread rapidly if people are not vaccinated
- To help stop infectious diseases spreading, at least 90% of the local population need to be properly vaccinated
- Some vulnerable people – particularly sick children – cannot be vaccinated. They are put at risk if others around them have not been vaccinated as disease can be spread and they are less able to fight it
- The full vaccination schedule is available. If in doubt, speak to your GP to check your child has had the right vaccinations and is protected
- Vaccines are thoroughly tested for safety and are continually monitored after they are introduced.