London parents - will you be giving your kids under 10 the polio booster?

[Digimoor]

I just got a text with details of the polio booster they are offering
Dependent on age it will be a 6 in 1 or 3 in 1/ 4 in 1 jab with the other childhood vaccines included (eg Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping cough etc)

IABU to think my kid is fully vaccinated so why bother?

YABU = I will give my kids the booster
YANBU = I won't

I've had the letters today (text yesterday) for my two (2 & 6).

We're in south east London and they both will have it.

Yes. Polio is nasty and the vaccine is an old one, not experimental or new. Weighing up risks I think most will, even those who’ve refused some other vaccines.

Am in London and will, yes.

I agree. I am old enough to remember seeing children in callipers due to having contracted polio. I was born in 1958. I doubt that anyone close to me in age would think the polio vaccine a bad idea.

Hello fellow Rotarian @Lincslady53 🙋

My 2 year old is currently unvaccinated we have just decided to start - does this mean 4 polio vaccines or 3 ?

You can’t booster an unvaccinated

The downside to a successful vaccination campaign is a generation will grow up not knowing the horrors of certain diseases. We also have a family member badly affected, so at least my teens know.
This thread is actually quite heartening, after all the anti covid vaccine media, I had worried people would turn against other vaccinations. But there seems to be lots of understanding about how necessary this is.

So it’s just the 3 polio ones (are they the 5 in 1 vaccine?) I wasn’t sure if it meant we would have to do 4 of those but I assume just the scheduled 3? It’s all a bit confusing

I would.
My DC are adult now, but I am old enough to know a few people who lost the use of limbs after having polio..it has life changing permanent effects.

In south east London and will definitely be getting it - just waiting for the letter. Our kids swim in local rivers all the time and though those rivers are not identified as having sewage in them, it’s stopped us going in them.

That and the massive haul of handguns, shotguns and machine guns found in a river near us!

Your child isn’t fully vaccinated forever because they had a jab as a newborn. Vaccines don’t last long, hence the need for boosters.

We're in Bromley - got the text today.

We're in Hillingdon & got a text & letter both saying they'll be back in contact with how to book.
I personally think they should do it in schools once they go back alongside flu vaccine but there's probably a logistical reason why this wouldn't work.

I think the OP is fully aware of the risks of polio. What they're asking for is an understanding of why our kids would need a booster if they're up to date with their schedule. To be honest that isn't clear from the NHS guidance I've read.

All medical interventions come with a risk so it's right to question. In fact I'm stunned at the level of blind trust people put in the hands of government and big pharma, who do not work in our interests. They work in their own and their shareholders' interests first and foremost. Look at how safety data about these things is abstracted and hidden from us. I'm sure GPs work in our best interests but I'd be amazed if they understood or had time to process that data.

@hellyt3 there is no money in polio and other childhood vaccinations, which is why people like Bill Gates fund them for developing countries as it gives them big bang for the bucks of his charitable foundation. (Vaccinations cost lots more in the US as they like ripping people off.)

While all GPs and most nurses should understand vaccine data, there are some with advanced degrees who definitely do.

My DD had her's two Saturdays ago with lots of other children in the area. It means due to her age my DD got two polio vaccines in one year. She is aware that some of her vaccinations are to help stop her making her OAP friends sick.

All - I got my daughter (aged 8) vaccinated at the Clinic K at UCLH. Incredibly efficient and they used the DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and polio) booster. We were in and out within minutes.

I paid for my son (aged 11) to have the same booster at our local chemist. It was about £30.

Because the historical uptake by parents with intelligence meant that they were unlikely to be exposed to the virus.

Now, they are far more likely to be exposed to it, so they're giving the booster earlier to make sure people don't end up with dead or disabled 7 year olds. Add to that the gaps in vaccination over Covid and a greater number of idiots people ranting about conspiracy theories and Big Pharma and there are thousands more children more vulnerable.

Wow this is literally like something out of 1984. Why question anything at all? Why think through anything when someone else can do it for you.

Questioning the popular narrative does not make you an "idiot".

Maybe if there was better and more transparent communication of risk by health authorities and lobbying by big pharma of the government was banned then they'd be a greater level of trust, and therefore, uptake in all the major vaccines.

I think I’m quite a lot older than some of the people on MN. A school friend’s grandma had died of Polio (admittedly in South Africa, rather than the UK).

Part of the problem is that so many have never heard of anyone having these really awful diseases.

It’s also really worth staying up to date with your tetanus boosters (especially if you ever do gardening or DIY).

We took ds 6yo this weekend there this weekend. Very quick and efficient.

We got the text and then a letter saying we would be contacted for booking and now - nothing. I'm afraid my GP is one of those nightmarish ones where you have to queue for 1h 30 to get through, and I've not had time to call them. Anyone else?

What about areas outside of London?

Yes of course.

You mean you've never heard of Polio before now? Or that vaccination, a concept taught in primary and secondary school, prevents people from dying of commonly fatal diseases?

Yes I will, because I’m not a thick twat.