Protecting the nation: Every child matters

Jon Paxman & Gail Beer

Vaccination ranks only below clean water as the most important health intervention in the world for saving lives and promoting good health.

England’s Childhood Immunisation Programme (CIP) currently [in 2014] delivers routine vaccinations for 12 infectious diseases: most vaccinations are administered in four stages to infants from two to thirteen months, with flu vaccine (nasal spray) given to children aged two and three, and two pre-school injections (DTaP/IPV booster and MMR second dose) given at three years and four months, or soon after.

Researched during the first year of the newly instated Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), this report warns against complacency in the CIP and presents a range of recommendations that either build on existing strategies or advocate new agencies of support. The aim is to ensure even hard to reach children have easy access to services, giving them the greatest chance of maximum protection from communicable diseases.