Routine childhood immunisation

Your child will be offered a number of recommended routine immunisations during childhood.This is so they are protected against serious diseases.

After clean water, immunisation is the most effective public health intervention in the world for saving lives and promoting good health.

Attending your child’s immunisation appointments will help make sure you and your child stay healthy.

If you are not sure if your child is up to date with their immunisations or have questions, you can contact your GP surgery to check and to book in any outstanding immunisations.

It is never too late catch up with your child’s immunisations and you can book appointments for missed vaccinations at any time. The sooner your child is up to date with their routine imunisations, the better.

Unregistered children

If you are not registered with a GP, you can register on the NHS website.

For more advice on the immunisations your child will be offered, and support to register with a GP, you can call Doctors of the World’s advice line on 0808 1647 686. This is free to call and open from 10am to 12pm (midday), Monday to Thursday.

Immunisation schedule

Babies under one year old
AgeVaccinesLocation

8 weeks

GP surgery

12 weeks

GP surgery

16 weeks

GP surgery

Children aged 1 to 15
AgeVaccinesLocation

1 year

GP surgery

2 to 10 years

  • 2 to 3 years old - GP surgery
  • 4 to 10 years old - school

3 years and 4 months

GP surgery or community clinic

12 to 13 years

School

14 years

School

 

Your GP practice or school will contact you when any vaccinations are due. For school aged children, you will receive a consent form from your child's school.

You can attend one of the catch-up clinics in the table below if your child has missed any of the following vaccinations at school:

  • Flu vaccinations: reception to year 6
  • HPV: year 8 to year 13
  • DTP and ACWY: year 9 to year 13
  • MMR: year 8 to year 9
  • Polio Booster: 6 to 9-year-olds

MMR catch-up Saturday vaccination clinics

 

Catch-up vaccination clinics
DateTimeLocation

Saturday 16 March 2024

9am - 5pm

Strouts Place Medical Centre

3 Strouts Place E2 7QU

Saturday 23 March 2024

9am - 5pm

Suttons Wharf Health Centre ​

26 Palmers Road​

E2 0FA

Saturday 23 March 2024

9am - 5pm

St Paul's Way Medical Centre

1st Floor, 11 Selsey Street E14 7LJ

Saturday 30 March 2024

9am - 5pm

Harley Grove

Saturday 30 March 2024

 

9am - 5pm

St Paul's Way Medical Centre

1st Floor, 11 Selsey Street E14 7LJ

Saturday 6 April 2024

9am - 5pm

Newby Place Health Centre

21 Newby Place E14 0EY

Saturday 6 April 2024

9am - 5pm

St Paul's Way Medical Centre

1st Floor, 11 Selsey Street E14 7LJ

Saturday 13 April 2024

9am - 5pm

St Paul's Way Medical Centre

1st Floor, 11 Selsey Street E14 7LJ

 

Vaccinations during pregnancy

Vaccinations during pregnancy
When it's offeredVaccineLocation

During flu season

Flu vaccine

GP surgery or hospital

From 16 weeks pregnant

Whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine

GP surgery

For more information on vaccinations offered during pregnancy, visit the NHS website.

Key contacts

GP surgeries, health visiting or school nursing teams and children’s centres can all provide additional information and advice. Alternatively, see the NHS vaccination scheduleor NHS Choices.

Family Information Service

TheFamily Information Service(FIS) provides free, impartial information and advice on a variety of services for children and young people (from birth to 25 years old), parents and families.

The service operates a telephone helpline and drop-in service from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Tel:020 7364 6495
Email:fis@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Health Visting Service

To contact your local health visiting service call 0204 551 1414.

Midwifery

For more information about the immunisation offered during pregnancy you can contact your local midwifery immunisation team on 0203 594 2585.

Vaccination UK

Vaccination UK provide immunisations to school aged children in Tower Hamlets and across the country. The immunisations include flu, HPV and MMR and they take place in schools.

If you want to find out more about the immunisations they offer you can visit their website.

Red Book

Not long after your child is born you will receive a Personal Child Health Record, also known as the 'Red Book'. This will be used to keep a record of your child’s weight, height and immunisations. You will be able to check your child's Red Book to see which vaccinations they have had and also find contact details for your local health visiting team.

You can now register for an electronic Redbook via eRedbook - The Digital Red Book For Parents.

Other key immunisations

Polio vaccination

The number of children vaccinated for polio in London has been lower than it should be, so children aged 1 to 9 years old in London have recently been offered another dose as part of a polio booster programme.

This was offered aseither a booster on top of your child’s routine immunisations or as a catch up dose.

The polio booster programme has now been paused, but children should continue to get their routine polio vaccinations. You can contact your GP surgery or check your child's personal child health record (red book) to see if they are up to date.

If they are not, you can book an appointment with your GP surgery to get them vaccinated free on the NHS.

For information on what polio is, who is eligible and the polio booster vaccination, please see the NHS website.

Flu vaccination for children

Flu can be very serious,causing thousands of hospitalisations and hundreds of deaths in the UK every winter. Vaccinating children against flu protects them and the community because children can spread flu easily.

For more information on the flu vaccination programme being offered to children this year, see the NHS website.

Where to get the flu vaccine
Age groupLocation
From 6 months until 2 years old (with long-term health conditions) GP surgery
From 2 years old until primary school starts GP surgery
All children at primary school School
All year 7 to 9 school children School
Children aged 12 to 17 years old (with long-term health conditions) GP surgery
Home-schooled children aged 4 to 11 years old Community clinic

Useful external links