Vaccinations are routinely offered to your newborn, it is entirely up to the parents whether or not to get your newborn vaccinated. I think it is good to get your newborn vaccinated to provide him/her with the best immunity possible. It is essential to ensure babies are protected against certain diseases as they can be severe in young babies.
With the NHS childhood immunisation programme, babies are given their immunisations at 8 weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks with further immunisations given at 1 year old. The vaccines given are:
- DTaP/IPV/Hib as known as the 5-in-1 vaccine provides protection against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) – at 8 weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks
- MenB protects against Meningococcal group B disease – at 8 weeks and 16 weeks
- Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) protects against pneumococcal disease – at 8 weeks and 16 weeks
- Rotavirus provides protection against rotavirus (given orally) – at 8 weeks and 12 weeks
Your baby might get some mild side effects after immunisations. These are:
- Redness, tenderness or swelling at the injection site
- A small lump at the injection site, it may last for a few weeks but will slowly disappear
- A mild fever may develop (more common when the MenB vaccine is given with the other routine vaccines at 8 and 16 weeks)
- May feed poorly and be a bit irritable
Always trust your instincts, if you feel something is not correct contact your GP right away.
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