Childhood Immunisations
Sydenham House Surgery strongly recommends ensuring your children have all their childhood immunisations against preventable diseases as the consequences of not vaccinating can be lead to serious, life-changing disabilities and death.
Apart from one injection that is given at school, all childhood immunisations are available at the surgery, and it's never too late to vaccinate.
Why childhood immunisation is important
Immunisation prepares the body to fight serious infections that might happen in the future. Babies and young children are very susceptible and vulnerable to infections, so they need to be protected as soon as possible.
Children need 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 Northern Ireland 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.
In some countries it is more difficult to receive vaccines and as a result more people die from infectious diseases every year.
Unless vaccine uptake remains high in Northern Ireland, many of these serious infectious diseases will return from parts of the world where they still occur. If this happens, then children living in Northern Ireland that are not vaccinated will be at risk of these infections, their complications and even death.
Further advice and immunisation schedule
More information and advice on childhood immunisations and the recommended childhood immunisation schedule can be found using the following links:
- NHS - why vaccination is safe and important
- UK Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) 'Green Book' recommended immmunisation schedule (PDF)
- NHS - recommended immunisation schedule
