Immunisations

Question 1

how do vaccinations work?

Answer 1

Vaccinations are an incredibly safe and effective way to protect children and adults from serious infections. A weakened or inactive version of the pathogen is given to stimulate an immune response. This immune response leads to immunity to the full version of the pathogen, reducing the risk and severity of infection with that pathogen.

Question 2

What are inactivated vaccines?

Answer 2

Inactivated vaccines involve giving a killed version of the pathogen. They cannot cause an infection and are safe for immunocompromised patients, although they may not have an adequate response. Examples are:

Polio
Flu vaccine
Hepatitis A
Rabies

Question 3

What are subunit and conjugate vaccines?

Answer 3

Subunit and conjugate vaccines only contain parts of the organism used to stimulate an immune response. They also cannot cause infection and are safe for immunocompromised patients. Examples of subunit and conjugate vaccines are:

Pneumococcus
Meningococcus
Hepatitis B
Pertussis (whooping cough)
Haemophilus influenza type B
Human papillomavirus (HPV)
Shingles (herpes-zoster virus)

Question 4

What are live attenuated vaccines?

Answer 4

Live attenuated vaccines contain a weakened version of the pathogen. They are still capable of causing infection, particularly in immunocompromised patients. The following vaccines are live attenuated vaccines:

Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine: contains all three weakened viruses
BCG: contains a weakened version of tuberculosis
Chickenpox: contains a weakened varicella-zoster virus
Nasal influenza vaccine (not the injection)
Rotavirus vaccine

Question 5

What are toxin vaccines?

Answer 5

Toxin vaccines contain a toxin that is normally produced by a pathogen. They cause immunity to the toxin and not the pathogen itself. Examples are the diphtheria and tetanus vaccines.

Question 6

Which vaccinations do children in the UK receive at 8 weeks? (may vary)

Answer 6

8 weeks:

6 in 1 vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) and hepatitis B)
Meningococcal type B
Rotavirus (oral vaccine)

Question 7

Which vaccines do children in the UK receive at 12 weeks?

Answer 7

12 weeks:

6 in 1 vaccine (again)
Pneumococcal (13 different serotypes)
Rotavirus (again)

Question 8

Which vaccines do children in the UK receive at 16 weeks?

Answer 8

16 weeks:

6 in 1 vaccine (again)
Meningococcal type B (again)

Question 9

Which vaccines do children in the UK receive at 1 year of age?

Answer 9

1 year:

2 in 1 (haemophilus influenza type B and meningococcal type C)
Pneumococcal (again)
MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella)
Meningococcal type B (again)

Question 10

Which vaccine do children in the UK receive yearly from age 2-8?

Answer 10

Yearly from age 2 – 8:

Influenza vaccine (nasal vaccine)

Question 11

Which vaccines do children in the UK receive at age 3 years 4 months?

Answer 11

3 years 4 months:

4 in 1 (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio)
MMR vaccine (again)

Question 12

Which vaccine do children in the UK receive aged 12-13?

Answer 12

12 – 13 years:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (2 doses given 6 to 24 months apart)

Question 13

Which vaccines do children in the UK receive aged 14?

Answer 13

14 years:

3 in 1 (tetanus, diphtheria and polio)
Meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y

Question 14

What is the HPV vaccine?

Answer 14

The HPV vaccine is ideally given to girls and boys before they become sexually active. The intention is to prevent them contracting and spreading HPV once they become sexually active. The current NHS vaccine is Gardasil, which protects against strains 6, 11, 16 and 18:

Strains 6 and 11 cause genital warts
Strains 16 and 18 cause cervical cancer

Question 15

What is the BCG vaccine?

Answer 15

The BCG vaccine is offered from birth to babies who are at higher risk of tuberculosis. These are babies with relatives from countries of high TB prevalence or who live in urban areas with a high rate of TB. It may also be given to children arriving from areas of high TB prevalence or in close contact with people that have TB

Question 16

What is the misinformation surrounding MMR vaccine?

Answer 16

Andrew Wakefield published a paper in 1998 in the Lancet, where he performed a series of tests on 12 children with autism and chronic enterocolitis. He reported it appeared they started having features of autism after the MMR vaccine. This was very anecdotal evidence based on parents perceptions about when the issues started. This caused a very big media response that generated a lot of fear amongst parents and uncertainty amongst doctors.

Since then the MMR vaccine, as well as other vaccines, have been extensively investigated with much more rigorous scientific research and statistical power, such as a meta-analysis with over one million patients. All subsequent scientific literature has disproved any link between the MMR and autism.