Pre-School Vaccines
Your child will be offered two injections prior to starting school, the 4-in1 pre-school booster and MMR vaccine.
Your child will be offered two injections prior to starting school, the 4-in1 pre-school booster and MMR vaccine. 4-in-1 Pre-School Booster The 4-in-1 pre-school booster vaccine is offered to children after they turn 3 years and 4 months to boost their protection against 4 serious conditions: Diphtheri.
– a highly contagious and potentially fatal infection that can affect the nose and throat Tetanu.
– a serious but rare condition caused by bacteria getting into an open wound Whooping Coug.
– a bacterial infection of the lungs Poli.
– a serious viral infection which causes temporary or permanent paralysis You child would have been offered vaccines which help protect against the above at 8, 12 and 16 weeks. This is a 6-in-1 vaccine which also helps protect against Hepatitis B and Hib as well as the four mentioned above. The pre-school booster is routinely offered to all children prior to them starting school and further increases their protection against the four different conditions. Unlike previous vaccines, this will be injected into your child’s upper arm. Effectiveness Clinical tests have shown the booster to be very effective with more than 99 in every 100 children who were given the 4-in-1 pre-school booster were protected against tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough and polio and will protect your child until they are offered their 3-in-1 teenager booster at the age of 14. How Safe is the Booster? The 4-in-1 pre-school booster vaccine has been thoroughly tested to ensure it is both safe and effective. The vaccine used is inactive and so doesn’t contain any live bacteria or viruses and can’t cause any of the infections it protects against. Side effects Most children have no side effects at all and if you child does experience a side effect it will be within 48 hours of the vaccine and will usually be mild and not last long. Your child may experience some redness, swelling or tenderness when the injection was given but this will disappear on its own. MMR Vaccine The MMR vaccine (2nd dose) is also offered to your child at the same time as their 4-in-1 pre-school booster and protects against: Measle.
– an acute viral respiratory illness Mumps – a contagious viral infection Rubella – an infection that affects the skin and lymph nodes, also known as German measles Your child will have been offered their first dose when they were 1 years old. Similar to the 4-in-1 pre-school booster, this vaccine will be given in the upper arm, usually the other arm or sometimes thigh to the 4-in-1 pre-school booster. Effectiveness The MMR vaccine is very effective with around 99% of people protected against measles and rubella and 88% of people protected against mumps after their 2nd dose. How Safe is the MMR vaccine? The MMR vaccine has been thoroughly tested to ensure it is both safe and effective.
The vaccine is live and contains a weakened version of measles, mumps and rubella, enough to produce immunity without causing disease. Side effects The MMR vaccine is safe and most side effects are mild and don’t last long.
Your child may experience some redness, swelling or tenderness when the injection was given, but shouldn’t last more than 2-3 days. Your child may also feel a bit unwell or develop a high temperature for a couple of days around 7-11 days after the injection.
These symptoms are not infectious.
Sources: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/4-in-1-pre-school-dtap-ipv-booster.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/mmr-vaccine.
Your child will be offered two injections prior to starting school, the 4-in1 pre-school booster and MMR vaccine.