We would strongly encourage all parents to get their children fully vaccinated. We have full confidence in their safety and in their ability to protect your child and those around them. We also know the awful consequences that can come from the diseases that the vaccines give protection from.
Please be aware of anti-vaccine stories and always get your vaccine and health information from trusted sources, such as the NHS or World Health Organisation (WHO). The vaccine information on social media may not be based on scientific evidence and could put your child at risk of a serious illness. All the current evidence tells us that getting vaccinated is safer than not getting vaccinated.
We are here to help so please ask to speak to on of our team if you have any questions about vaccines, their effectiveness and safety.
Since vaccines were introduced in the UK, diseases like smallpox, polio and tetanus that used to kill or disable millions of people are either gone or are now very rarely seen. Other diseases like measles and diphtheria have reduced to a very low number of cases each year since vaccines were introduced. Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent many infectious diseases and save millions of lives worldwide each year. As a parent, it is one of the most important things that you can do to protect your child.
However, if people stop having vaccines, it’s possible for infectious diseases to quickly spread again. For the first time in three decades, we’re witnessing the largest sustained backslide in childhood vaccination rates… As a result, some 25 million children are now missing out on life-saving vaccines every year, placing them at risk from devastating and entirely preventable diseases like measles and pertussis. (Immunization | UNICEF)
Please visit Why vaccination is important and the safest way to protect yourself – NHS (www.nhs.uk) – it explains how vaccines work, what they contain and the most common side effects.
Vaccines DO
- help to protect you and your child from many serious and potentially deadly diseases
- protect other people in your family and community – by helping to stop diseases spreading to people who cannot have vaccines, such as babies too young to be vaccinated and those who are too ill to be vaccinated
- undergo rigorous safety testing before being introduced – they’re also constantly monitored for side effects after being introduced
- sometimes cause mild side effects that will not last long – you may feel a bit unwell and have a sore arm for 2 or 3 days
- reduce or even get rid of some diseases – if enough people are vaccinated
They DO NOT
- do not overload or weaken the immune system – it’s safe to give children and adults several vaccines at a time and this reduces the amount of injections needed
- do not contain mercury (thiomersal)
- do not contain any ingredients that cause harm – only ingredients essential to making them safer and more effective and only in very small amounts
- do not cause autism – studies have found no evidence of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism
