UK: All child vaccine records to be checked

[Guest guest]

follow the example of the U.S.

U.S. and UK are really same country in case you haven't figured that out yet

<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6218755/All-child-vaccine-records-\

to-be-checked.html>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6218755/All-chil\

d-vaccine-records-to-be-checked.html

All child vaccine records to be checked

All children should have their medical records

checked when they start school to see if they

have had vaccinations for MMR and other illnesses, under official guidance.

By

<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/rebecca-smith/>

, Medical Editor

Published: 7:15AM BST 23 Sep 2009

Where there are gaps, health visitors should

contact parents to encourage them them to ensure

their children are given all the appropriate

jabs, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence had said.

The checks should be made when a child joins

nursery, playgroup or primary school and records

kept where parents have expressed concerns about

vaccination, the guidance said.

However campaign groups said parents will feel

under pressure to have their child vaccinated even if they have reservations.

It is the first time Nice has made recommendations about immunisation.

Uptake rates of the measles, mumps and rubella

(MMR) vaccine has improved following the scare in

1998 when Dr Wakefield linked the vaccine

to bowel and autism disorders, but levels still remain relatively low.

It has been estimated that 1.3 million children

aged between two and 17 in England are at risk of

contracting measles because they have not been vaccinated.

Children should have three doses of the

five-in-one-jab which contains vaccine against

diphtheria, tetanus, polio, whooping cough and

Hib, three doses of pneumoccocal conjugate

vaccine which protects against the bacterium that

can cause septicaemia, meningitis and pneumonia,

three doses of meningitis C vaccine and two doses

of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine by the time they are aged five.

The guidance said: " The Healthy Child team, led

by a health visitor working with other

practitioners, should check the immunisation

record (including the personal child health

record) of each child aged up to 5 years.

" They should carry out this check when the child

joins a day nursery, nursery school, playgroup,

Sure Start children’s centre or when they start

primary school. The check should be carried out

in conjunction with childcare or education staff and the parents. "

Jackie Fletcher, from the campaign group Jabs,

said: " Parents will definitely feel under

pressure particularly because their choice is so

limited. Many parents would like to vaccinate

their children but they cannot have the single

measles, mumps and rubella vaccines on the NHS.

" This will put extra pressure on parents that

they could do without, particularly because we do

not have compulsory vaccination in this country. "

She said Jabs would support moves to improve

record keeping where there are reasons a child

has not been vaccinated, including parental

concerns but if the note was used to put extra

pressure on parents that would be a backward step.

In some states in America children are not

allowed to start school until they have received all their immunisations.

A spokesman for Nice said: “The new Nice guidance

recommends that immunisation records of children

and young people should be checked when they join

a new nursery, play group, school or college.

" If they are not up-to-date with their

vaccinations, school nursing teams should explain

to parents why immunisation is important for

children’s health and provide information in an appropriate format.

" School nursing teams should also offer

vaccinations to help them catch up, or refer them

to other immunisation services.”

Parents will still have a choice to vaccinate

their child or not and there is no recommendation

to implement compulsory vaccinations, a spokesman for Nice said.

Professor Law, Chair of the Public

Health Interventions Advisory Committee (PHIAC)

at Nice and Professor of Public Health and

Epidemiology, University College London Institute

of Child Health said: “Immunisation plays a vital

role in children’s health by providing protection against common infections .

" These infections can have devastating effects

and even cause death. This new guidance, for

those who have a role in immunisation, makes

recommendations which aim to increase the uptake

in groups and settings where immunisation levels are currently low.”

Dr Elliman Consultant Community

Paediatrician, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS

Trust and Haringey Teaching PCT said: “Although

immunisation rates are rising, there is still a

way to go before all primary care trusts have

achieved the desired public health targets. "

Dr Ramsay Consultant Epidemiologist, Health

Protection Agency Centre for Infections said:

“Immunisation saves lives and the aim of this

guidance is to ensure that children are given the

best possible opportunity to receive the protection they need.

" This could be achieved by ensuring that children

are offered immunisation at every possible

opportunity by improving access by offering

walk-in vaccination clinics, mobile or outreach

services which may include home visits or

vaccinations at children's centres and keeping

track of their immunisation history.”

The guidance said the youngest children from

large families are among those who may miss out

on vital vaccinations, along with children in

care, those with physical or learning

disabilities and children from non-English speaking families.

This could be down to parents not wishing to have

their children immunised or other factors, such

as failing to return to the GP for a follow-up jab.

Other recommendations include introducing

outreach programmes and longer opening hours in

clinics so parents can access vaccines for their children more easily.

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