Your baby’s first vaccines provide important protection from a number of vaccine preventable diseases.
It’s important that you keep up to date with your baby’s vaccines. Vaccinating your baby on time, gives them the best protection against diseases like meningitis, measles and polio.
Recent HPSC reports (you will be directed to the HPSC website) show we are not reaching the 95% of vaccination needed to achieve community immunity and protection from these vaccine preventable diseases.
Getting your baby vaccinated on time gives them the best protection. However there could be any number of reasons as to why you may not have had the chance to get those first vaccines for your baby. You can get right back on track with your baby’s vaccine schedule by contacting your GP practice to arrange an appointment.
It takes just five visits to your General Practice to complete your baby’s vaccination schedule, giving your baby important protection from these vaccine preventable diseases.
Vaccination protects your baby from certain diseases which can cause severe illness and harm at a vulnerable time in their lives.
It’s good to have questions about vaccines but you should always get information from people you can trust like the HSE National Immunisation Office website or have a conversation with your Practice Nurse or GP. They will be more than happy to talk to you about vaccines and your baby.
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We asked Dr Chantal Migone, Specialist in Public Health Medicine at the NIO, and a specialist in baby and childhood vaccines to talk about why it’s important to keep your baby up to date with their vaccines.
Dr Migone has worked in public health for more than 6 years, and as a GP for more than 10 years. |
“Vaccines help keep your baby healthy and well. When babies are very small they are most at risk of infectious diseases that can make them very sick but luckily we can prevent many of these diseases through vaccination. By getting your baby vaccinated on time you are giving them the best of protection at the time they need it most. Delaying the vaccines on the other hand means your baby could be exposed to a serious illness.
It is a really busy time when you have a new baby, so putting a reminder in your phone, or sticking the vaccination schedule up on your fridge or kitchen wall can help remind you of the appointments your baby needs.
Sometimes parents may not have been able to bring their baby for vaccination on time. If you are delayed with your baby’s vaccines. Talk to your GP or Practice Nurse and they will arrange for your baby to catch-up with the vaccines that they need.”
This page was added on 20th June 2022
