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Immunisation
Information for immunisation practitioners and other health professionals.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says:
The 2 public health interventions that have had the greatest impact on the world’s health are clean water and vaccines.
‘Immunisation against infectious disease’, also known as the Green Book, has the latest information on vaccines and vaccination procedures in the UK.
Immunisation patient group direction (PGD) templates are available for authorisation and adoption to provide NHS routine immunisation services.
Vaccine update newsletters cover developments in the field and updates to the Green Book.
See the latest vaccine uptake guidance and statistics.
Minutes of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) meetings are available.
PHE commissions attitudinal surveys to understand parental knowledge and attitudes towards the immunisation programme to inform the planning of the childhood immunisation programme.
A timeline showing the development and introduction of vaccines in the UK from 1796 to 2017.
Vaccine programmes
Joint letters from the Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England announce changes to vaccine programmes. Training slide sets and other resources to accompany these new programmes are also available:
- Annual flu programme
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for men who have sex with men (MSM) programme
- Measles catch-up
- Meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY)
- Meningococcal B (MenB)
- Meningococcal C (MenC)
- Rotavirus
- Shingles vaccination
ImmForm
The ImmForm website is the government’s vaccine ordering facility. You need to use Internet Explorer to use the website. There is a registration helpsheet to help you access the ImmForm website.
Immunisation publications
Use Department of Health Orderline to order paper copies of leaflets.
Browse an archive of older publications.
Childhood immunisation schedules
Immunisation leaflets and guidance for parents
- Immunisations: resources for schools
- Immunisations for young people
- Pregnancy: how to help protect you and your baby
- Immunisations: babies up to 13 months of age
- MMR vaccination: Have you had your MMR?
- Vaccines and porcine gelatine
- What to expect after vaccinations
- Childhood immunisation: quick guide for parents of premature babies
- Immunisations at one year of age
- Pre-school vaccinations: guide to vaccinations from 2 to 5 years
- Splenectomy: leaflet and card
- Immunisation: why our children must be protected (DVD)
Vaccine handling and protocols
- Keep your vaccines healthy poster and magnet
- Vaccines stored outside the recommended temperature range: leaflet
- Vaccination in pregnancy (VIP)
- Off-label vaccine: leaflets
- Influenza vaccine and porcine gelatine: guidance for health professionals
- Vaccine storage management: Care Quality Commission inspection
- Protocol for ordering, storing and handling vaccines
- Vaccine incident guidance: responding to vaccine errors
Hexavalent combination vaccine (DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB)
Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib)
Human papillomavirus (HPV) for girls
See the advice about HPV vaccine administered unintentionally during pregnancy from the HPA’s archived website.
- HPV vaccination for girls: programme poster
- Human papillomavirus (HPV): vaccination record card
- HPV vaccine: beating cervical cancer
- HPV vaccine: vaccination guide leaflet
- HPV vaccination and cervical cancer: addressing the myths
- Changes to the HPV vaccine schedule 2014 to 2015: advice for healthcare professionals
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination consent form
- HPV vaccination programme: change from 3 to 2 doses
Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Pertussis: guidelines for public health management
- Pertussis (whooping cough): information for healthcare professionals
- Whooping cough: vaccination in pregnancy programme resources
- Pertussis: guidelines for public health management in a healthcare setting
- Vaccination against pertussis (whooping cough) for pregnant women
- Whooping cough vaccination programme for pregnant women: extension to 2014
Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
History of measles and rubella vaccination
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Excerpt about the rarity of serious adverse reactions to the MMR vaccine: Current problems in pharmacovigilance, Vol 21, November 1995, published by the Medicines Control Agency and Committee on Safety of Medicines
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Department of Health report on the 1994 measles rubella immunisation campaign One Year On
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Report and evaluation on measles-rubella immunisation campaign in the mid-1990s
2018 marks 50 years since the introduction of the first measles containing vaccine into the UK childhood immunisation programme. View our online measles blog and follow the timeline to see how the programme has evolved over the last 50 years.
- Measles: resources for local government
- Protecting children during outbreaks: immunisation in schools
- Measles and rubella elimination UK
- Measles: protect yourself, protect others
- Measles outbreak
- Thinking of getting pregnant?
- MMR for all: general leaflet
- Think measles: poster for young people
- Think measles: patient leaflet for young people
- Think measles: poster about measles in young people
- Rubella resources
- Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR): use of combined vaccine instead of single vaccines
- Measles: Don't let your child catch it - poster
- Measles: Don't let your child catch it flyer (for GPs)
- Measles: Don't let your child catch it flyer (for schools)
Tuberculosis
BCG Vaccine AJV (formerly Statens Serum Institut (SSI)):training slide set for healthcare professionals has been developed to support the reintroduction of UK licensed BCG vaccine. (Please try an alternative browser if you have difficulty opening this in older versions of Internet Explorer).
Training resources
E-learning immunisation resources
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an interactive immunisation e-learning course, written in line with the national minimum training standards and consisting of 7 knowledge sessions with accompanying assessments, is available for all healthcare practitioners with a role in immunisation - registration is free of charge
Immunisation of pregnant woman
The immunisation of pregnant woman and neonates slidesets have been developed to support the delivery of immunisation training to health care workers providing or advising on immunisation of pregnant women:
- background, history and attitudes towards maternal vaccination
- influenza and pertussis vaccines
- selective vaccination programmes for neonates
- pre- and post-natal viral rash illness inadvertent vaccination
- governance considerations, challenges to achieving high vaccine coverage, horizon scanning and resources
- Immunisation training standards for healthcare practitioners
- The Green Book multiple choice questions
- Immunisation training of healthcare support workers: national minimum standards and core curriculum
- MenB and MenACWY programmes: video training guide
- MenB and MenACWY programmes: advanced training slides
- Pertussis (whooping cough) immunisation for pregnant women: resources and training
Infographics
Published 15 October 2013
Last updated 29 October 2018 + show all updates
Last updated 29 October 2018 + show all updates
- Added link to the measles blog.
- Added Measles: a resource for local government to measles collection.
- Added 'BCG: which vaccine should you use poster' document.
- Added 'visual guide to vaccines poster'.
- Added immunisations resources for schools.
- Added training slide set link for BCG Vaccine AJV.
- Added BCG transition to licensed vaccine letter to Tuberculosis section.
- Added Protecting your children during outbreak: immunisation in schools.
- Added Measles and rubella elimination UK publication to the MMR section.
- Added link to the HPV for MSM programme page.
- Added link to the current e-learning course.
- Added Measles: protect yourself, protect others leaflet.
- Added the national minimum standards and core curriculum for immunisation training for registered healthcare practitioners guidance document.
- Added the HPV vaccination for men who have sex with men evaluation report
- Added measles poster and leaflets to raise awareness of measles outbreaks.
- Added immunisation in pregnancy training resources.
- Vaccination timeline infographic updated to include the hexavalent combination vaccine (DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB).
- Added leaflet: HPV vaccination guide from September 2017.
- Added guidance on the infant hexavalent combination vaccine (DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB).
- Add 'MMR leaflet: Have you had your MMR?'.
- New HPV factsheet for health professionals.
- New template letter for parents of babies who missed BCG immunisation
- Added guidance for the unlicensed BCG vaccine, in response to a vaccine shortage: training material for healthcare professionals; advice for healthcare professionals; guide for parents and carers.
- Addied immunisation infographics to the collection.
- New leaflet: Pregnancy: how to help protect you and your baby which describes the vaccinations that help protect you and your baby during and after pregnancy.
- Added letter about expiry extension for SSI BCG vaccine batch 114022A.
- Added: Responding to cold chain failures involving the LAIV.
- Added 'Immunisations for young people' leaflet, updated to match the current schedule.
- Updated with current leaflet about pre-school immunisations.
- Added immunisation training resources: competence assessment tool and quality framework.
- Added leaflet on vaccines and porcine gelatine.
- Added details of introduction of MenB and MenACWY vaccines.
- The following have been added to the collection under 'vaccine handling and protocols': off-label vaccine: leaflets; cold chain leaflet: vaccines stored outside the recommended temperature range
- Added links to vaccine in pregnancy surveillance advice.
- Added vaccine incident guidance, one page guide for patients with incomplete or uncertain histories, and guidance about porcine gelatine content in Fluenz(R). Restructured with better headings.
- Vaccination against pertussis (whooping cough) for pregnant women guidance added under documents and pertussis (whooping cough) headings.
- Updated to add 'Use of Infanrix-IPV+Hib in the infant schedule: information for healthcare professionals' guidance.
- Updated to include routine childhood immunisations from July 2014
- Added letter about schedule change to HPV vaccination programme.
- Updated to include links to the complete routine immunisation schedule from summer 2014 and new vaccines for 2014 poster.
- Meningitis C leaflet for university students added. Grouped documents by topic. Removed documents that are available from their own topic collections.
- The guidance 'Protocol for ordering, storing and handling vaccines' was added to the collection.
- Removed vaccine uptake documents from this collection; collected separately in 'vaccine uptake' collection.
- Updated the immunisation section to add a link for ordering publications online; revised description of some document links.
- Added 'Seasonal flu vaccine uptake in GP patients 1 September 2013 to 31 December 2013' and 'Seasonal flu vaccine uptake in healthcare workers 1 September 2013 to 31 December 2013'
- Added 'Seasonal flu vaccine uptake in healthcare workers 1 September 2013 to 30 November 2013' and 'Seasonal flu vaccine uptake in GP patients 1 September 2013 to 30 November 2013'.
- Added 'Annual HPV vaccine coverage 2012 to 2013: by PCT and SHA' and 'Annual HPV vaccine coverage 2012 to 2013: by PCT and area team'.
- Added 'Pertussis vaccination programme for pregnant women 2012 to 2013: monthly data by area team (England)'.
- Added 'Seasonal flu vaccine uptake data for GP Patients: provisional monthly data for 1 September 2013 to 31 October 2013' and 'Seasonal flu vaccine uptake in healthcare workers 2013-2014: provisional monthly data for 1 September 2013 to 31 October 2013'.
- Added poster promoting flu jabs to those at risk.
- Added 'Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake monthly survey 2013 to 2014 user guide', 'Prenatal pertussis vaccine uptake surveys 2013 to 2014 quick reference guide' and a revised version of the 'Prenatal pertussis vaccine uptake surveys 2013 to 2014 user guide'.
- First published.