Discuss the new infant vaccinations schedule with me…

[LittlePeachh]

My DC1 has received all vaccinations to date (minus flu shot).

DC2 child has started to receive their vaccinations. I’m feeling uneasy with new introductions and how many vaccines they’re receiving in such a short time (34 before 2 y/o if I’m correct).

I know this can be a heated topic for debate but I’m interested in all perspectives…
Hoping we can respectfully discuss this.

Link to changes - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-routine-childhood-schedule-letter/changes-to-the-routine-childhood-vaccination-schedule-from-1-july-2025-and-1-january-2026-letter

My oldest child is mid 20’s and vaccinated at the height of the mmr issues. I started parenting as an anti vaxxer but, even with the “benefit” of cognitive bias I couldn’t find any credible research to back up my claims. I had to change my mind and embrace all vaccines 🙄

I had a good friend who was a gp (and also had children). Babies and toddlers have an immature immune system and this makes lots of vaccines actually safer. Immature immune systems are less likely to react to vaccines rather than a more mature immune systems.

Having seen one of my babies have bad chickenpox at 5 months old I would definitely have added chickenpox vaccine if I could have done.

NOTHING is 100% safe. We know that adverse reactions to vaccines do happen. But they are very rare. Long term damage or death from the illnesses they prevent is less rare than vaccine damage, actually much less rare.

Empowered with what? They aren't scientists and children are different personality wise, but unless they have a serious illness, gentic thing, they aren't more immune to one disease than another?

One child isn't biologically different, and no parental 'intuition' that my child doesn't need the MMR vaccine but my other did, or they don't need HepC but other children do (any immunologist would tell that's nonsensical and places more of the public at risk). That idea has no logic, science or reason aligned with it.

All children are at risk of those disease, which vaccines reduce, there is nothing that any parent can see to be 'empowered' to put their children at more risk because 'they just know' my child will be fine 🙄. Wtf type of intuition are they getting? That is exactly what reduces herd immunity and causes massive increases in transmission of the diseases and in turn dead children, look at Texas, look at Liverpool even on a small scale.
https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2025/expert-comment-child-dies-liverpool-after-contracting-measles

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPi_E6dEVid/?igsh=MWhpOWp5eHZzZThqcw%3D%3D

If it wasn't safe, it simply wouldn't be happening. These are all extremely safe, well tested vaccines which have been given to hundreds of millions of children around the world based on the best possible evidence at the time.

I agree, it's just nonsense to talk of empowerment. Not getting your child vaccinated is poor parenting and letting your child down.

That’s exactly the kind of conversation that should happen with parents before vaccines are given — allowing them to ask questions, even if they’re “not scientists.” What kind of statement is that, anyway? I’m not an engineer or an architect, but when my house was being built, I wanted to understand every detail: the pros and cons of each decision, why certain materials were used instead of others, and why pipes were installed in one place rather than another. I expected clear explanations from the specialists. Likewise, uncritically accepting whatever “science” says without understanding it isn’t good parenting — it can mean letting your child down.

That’s not really a fair comparison though is it? Read a scientific paper - unless you’re at least a Masters level bioscientist you’re unlikely to be able to understand it. Similarly if you asked your structural engineer to go through each line of the maths they’d used to calculate steels required you’d not likely be able to understand why using cheaper RSJs isn’t an option.

Being told this or that material is warmer and more fire resistant, but expensive, is hardly the same ballpark.

I looked through them and really decided against it. Children nowadays receive more vaccines before their first birthday than I (age 32) have ever received I my life.
There’s benefits and negatives but after reading the ingredients, side effects etc I decided not. Measles has also shown to kill cancer cells, but not the measles vaccine. If you’re unsure Ellie Grey on Instagram does post the vacc stats which is helpful.

How wonderful that children are ao well protected nowadays. Not really any negatives, they are very very safe and I dont think instagram is the best place for scientific information. My Auntie went blind in one eye from measles, I'd not risk that for my child when a simple vaccine is available. I think they should be mandatory for any child going to school, unless allergic.

I don’t think you necessarily can. My DD was going through a period of ill health where she had awful eczema over her whole body and was shitting blood, so I asked if we could space them out. The GP surgery said no so we unfortunately didn’t vaccinate her, although I actually would have liked to but she was suffering from so much inflammation I didn’t think it wise to put her through so much more.

I completely agree. We live in a world where if you even ask a question you are deemed 'anti vax'. Op you are right to question this and make an informed decision. Chicken pox vaccine seems completely unnecessary to me. You will get the odd mumsnetter who said ow I had it really bad, but millions of kids get chicken pox and are absolutely fine. I would not give this to my children. My kids also don't get the flu spray. Again I deem it unnecessary. I am not anti vax, they have had other vaccines. It should always be decided by the parent, risk vs side effects and if it is even needed in the first place. Some children have weakened immune systems so yes it absolutely makes sense to get them these done but other kids may not need these. People name calling and being nasty is just vile. Make your own decisions for your children it's not for anyone to judge other parents choices!

Yes I’d be concerned. As a pp mentioned, are children getting healthier? If not, then what’s the point of these extra vaccines?

You are right to ask questions. Nobody should belittle someone for asking for more information on such an important issue.

I've always been puzzled about the need to protect a child from hepatitis b, which is either transmitted sexually or by dirty needles. By the time they are approaching adulthood the vaccine has worn off.

You didn't receive all these vaccinations, yet you're still stupid💐

Hep B is transmitted by far more than that.

Babies only need hep b if their mother has it. It is completely unnecessary for all babies to get it.

The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for people at higher risk from hepatitis B, including:

• people who inject drugs or live with someone who injects drugs
• people who change sexual partners often
• gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men
• sex workers
• close family members or sexual partners of someone with hepatitis B
• people who have regular blood transfusions or blood products (and their carers)
• people with long-term (chronic) liver disease or kidney failure
• healthcare workers and some laboratory staff
• prison staff and prisoners
• people travelling to parts of the world where they have a higher risk of getting hepatitis B
• families adopting or fostering children from parts of the world where hepatitis B is more common
• people who live in accommodation for people with learning disabilities or work with people with severe learning disabilities

They’ve brought the vaccine schedule forwards because there are a lot of tits out there not vaccinating their children which has lead to massive measles outbreaks across Europe.

I don’t want my baby, who’s too young to be fully vaccinated, to be exposed. I’m grateful they’ve brought it forward as I want my child to have it as soon as possible.

Vaccines are better than dying of preventable diseases. If my DDs needed vaccinating 100 times to stop them potentially dying, I’d do it. Are you not more concerned about your child dying from a preventable disease, than the vaccine schedule?

Well said.

@Flamingowiggleswormyou mean genetically modified measles, not the virus itself.

https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2014/05/16/could-measles-cure-cancer-uh-not-exactly/

Hope your DCs don’t get measles and go deaf, like my mum’s friend did in the 1960s.

@Hereforthecommentz
"Chicken pox vaccine seems completely unnecessary to me. You will get the odd mumsnetter who said ow I had it really bad, but millions of kids get chicken pox and are absolutely fine. I would not give this to my children. My kids also don't get the flu spray. Again I deem it unnecessary. I am not anti vax, they have had other vaccines. It should always be decided risk vs side effects and if it is even needed in the first place"

Millions of kids used to get measles, mumps and rubella, and were "absolutely fine" afterwards, me included. Some weren't though, hence vaccines.
Same applies with chickenpox which occasionally has serious consequences in otherwise healthy children (and adults).
Why would you actually want your child to have chickenpox when you can prevent it? Or flu for that matter.
So you're just a pick'n'mix kind of vaxxer?

That is not true, scientists have experimented with modified measles viruses but that is not the same as the actual measles virus.

Also measles will destroy a hell of a lot of other cells like your antibodies, it wipes out 12-73% of the body's antibodies (average amount 40-60%), so your body essentially forgets how to respond to any disease and so you will be much more sick, (if you survive measles) everytime you get a cold etc and more at risk of things like pneumonia (if you didn't already have it from measles).

That's so empathetic for a child to have way worse sicknesses over a quick jab they'll forget in a second.

Also on ingredients, quick fact, the amount of aluminium is present in vaccines is less than the amount found in breast milk over a few days. Also you have these organs called the.... liver and kidneys that actually are already able to break it down and get rid of it.

You are not an immunologist, you don't understand the mechanisms in detail, so you reading the paper v the people who wrote it, is like a y6 reading a PhD history paper, it just doesn't match up.

This is a useful video explaining how a few people notgetting one vaccine can lead to a multitude of more infections; https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPiE6dEVid/igsh=MWhpOWp5eHZzZThqcw%3D%3

Another useful website on vaccine, goes through lots of questions or concerns, and also guidelines etc: https://vaccineknowledge.ox.ac.uk/home

@crumpetswithcheeze Are children dying prematurely and unnecessarily from measles, or rubella? Vaccines prevent from x disease they don't stop cancer (other than HPV), or diabetes, or Crohns, or a heart defect or car crashes etc. They aren't in existence to make children 100% healthy but stop them from dying from a disease from which they don't have to.

Also, over the past 50 years, global immunisations have saved an estimated 154 million lives, and 101 million of those are for infants under 1 year. https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2024-global-immunization-efforts-have-saved-at-least-154-million-lives-over-the-past-50-yearshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38705159/

Vaccines have prevented, 36 million deaths of children under 5 in developing nations.https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/213373/vaccines-prevented-37-million-deaths-lmics/

Finally, about 4 million deaths worldwide are prevented by childhood vaccination every year. https://www.cdc.gov/global-immunization/fast-facts/index.html?

It is one of many amazing public health innovations, which has improved quality of life and reduced unnecessary deaths.

Why not read peer reviewed medical reviews rather than get your "information" from social media?

Hi OP I totally get your gut feel on this. But the vaccine programme had been changed because it gives better immunity outcomes for that children. Else it wouldn’t be the schedule it is.
These vaccines are amazing and we are lucky to get them.
Older family experience of measles polio and meningitis. We got all the vaccines offered.

OP I understand your concern, I’ve heard it so often from parents but with respect it’s because you aren’t aware of all the clinical information and why would you as a lay person?
As others have said your child is exposed to far more pathogens every day than all the components in the vaccines. We can get complacent about vaccines as we don’t see many previous life threatening diseases these days. In the 50s polio and diphtheria were rife. My grandparents lost their first 2 children due to diseases that are now vaccine preventable. As a paediatric nurse I personally witnessed and cared for children in the 80s with awful diseases such as whooping cough etc. Some kids came through diseases unscathed and some had horrendous side effects like encephalitis. I will never forget a 2 yr old dying from meningitis in front of me 30 yrs ago.
Immunisation is one of the most effective public health interventions ever. We are lucky to be able to access vaccines. There are extensive clinical trials and research before any vaccine is introduced. We also lose vaccines from the routine schedule if they aren’t effective to the mass population e,g TB.
HPV vaccine given to teens is so effective it has been reduced from giving 3 vaccines initially over 6 months to just 1 vaccine, it is eradicating cervical cancer. Giving MMR as separate vaccines isn’t recommended as it leaves the child exposed to the disease they haven’t been vaccinated against whilst waiting for the next one.

Because the main method of transmission for kids is during birth, if their mother doesn't know she has it. If a baby exposed at birth is given the vaccine immediately and then at 2 months they have a 90% chance of not being infected. Hep B is incredibly difficult to spot as it's often symptomless and most people don't know they have it until it's too late. It's the main cause of liver cancer across the world. So vaccinating all children is a very simple and effective way of preventing it. It's been part of the standard vax schedule in the states since the early 90s.