Baby and childhood vaccinations

Vaccines help protect your child from serious, preventable infectious diseases.

Having your child vaccinated protects them, your family, and the wider community.

What vaccines do

Vaccines:

• protect against serious and deadly diseases
• help stop diseases spreading to others
• are safe and carefully tested before being added to the NHS schedule
• can reduce or even remove diseases through herd immunity
• May cause mild, short‑term side effects

You can find your child’s vaccination schedule in their Red Book (Personal Child Health Record PCHR) or on the NHS website.

When vaccinations start

• The NHS vaccination schedule begins when your baby is 8 weeks old.
• Your baby’s vaccinations are done at your GP practice.
• For school‑age children, these are usually through the School Immunisation team.
• If your baby or child has missed any vaccines, don’t worry, you can catch upby contacting your GP.

Note: The MenB vaccine can cause a high temperature, so it’s recommended to give your baby paracetamol after their 8 and 12 week MenB injections. Give three doses of 2.5 mL infant paracetamol, the first as soon as possible after the jab, then two more doses 4 to 6 hours apart. This helps reduce fever and keeps your baby comfortable.

Find important information about using paracetamol to prevent and treat fever after the MenB vaccine.