Going to university (2019/20 academic year) - finance, flat shares, friends old and new and freshers' week to come...

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Following on from thread 8 which filled up in just 72 hours.

Can I ask about vaccinations. Letter from Durham uni suggests an mmr booster. DD has had all vaccinations available as and when. Is anyone else doing this? I know there have been some mumps outbreaks. Also I think DD had the men vaccination at school as part of a national scheme but school don’t give any paperwork so I have no record.

Ignore me I just re-read the letter, it’s only if they’ve only had 1 dose of the mmr jab. MenACWY was given at school for our DC age group wasn’t it?

I suspect most GPs would refuse to give it based on the fact that the recommended course has been given. If Durham are suggesting it maybe their health service will do it? I have a suspicion that DS had the men acwy at school but the GP doesn't know. He's booked in for it next week.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/men-acwy-vaccine/

It’s ok they’ve had men acwy if born after 1/9/99 and had all school offered vaccines which my DD has had.

I called and spoke to the nurse to ask if they were told about vaccinations via school as I wanted to know if ds had had menACWY. She said nothing on record but when she typed it in for ds it came up that he doesn't need it. So I'm hoping that means he's had it.

It’s annoying that they don’t get given a physical record, or stamped card to put in their red book isn’t it? All I know is mine have always had everything offered.

School sent me a list of all vaccinations menacwy given in 2017, she said MMR booster needed. Phoned surgery who are going to contact childrens health and get back to me.

Did you ask for that just?

When DS started at UoN anyone who hadn’t already had MENACWY were given it in the spot.

Re MMR, one of his housemates had mumps despite having had all MMR jabs. The mumps bit is only 80% effective apparently so you can get unlucky

GP should be able to print off vaccination record to check

@Benjispruce. In Wales it is all centralised or should be, but yes the school replied to my e-mail with a record of his jabs. So your GP should be able to know what a child has had. Which is why the receptionist said she would check with child health.

Dd is having MenACWY jab on Tuesday.

Our GP surgery checked and she did not receive it at school, they only started school vaccinations the following year in our area.

Our local health authority doesn't inform the gp about jabs given a school. It's annoying. I should have written down what he had. I didn't occur to me at the time.

I thought my boys had everything but nurse at gp says they need meningitis .. so that’s booked in for next week.. still no idea on bed size at Hild Bede.. given up worrying now 😬😁

It was impossible to find out from our GP, and school is closed until Sept 5th, so I decided that it couldn't hurt to have another one! Might get him to ask about MMR when he goes.

Trying to get info from our surgery about DS's vaccination record has been like drawing teeth. I am going to turn up with his red book and DS, and ask them to make up the record.

Am fairly sure he's up to date with everything, except that I don't think he's had the heaf test or the TB jab - DS reckons he'd remember the heaf test! I think he might have missed it because he was at an independent school and the surgery assumes the school administers it. The surgery tells me They are no longer responsible for this so I'll need to get it privately.

DS has definitely had both doses of MMR, but my understanding is that in the recent mumps outbreaks, fully MMR'd DCs were still getting mumps because the mumps part of the vaccine is the least effective part of it, and the loss of herd immunity owing to the anti-vax movement was leading to vaccinated DCs succumbing.

Can anyone qualified shed any light on this please, and on whether there is any point in looking for a single mumps booster?

My DS is seriously needle-phobic and told his school that he would get his own GP to give him his vaccinations. I only found this out through him after the fact. I managed to get MMR done (not as infant) but not men acwy, so will have to get him back. He ran away from Y9 boosters, too. The nurses at our surgery are too namby-pamby and won't cooperate when I sit on him and insist that they stick in the needle. They insist it infringes hi human rights and told me I'd have to get him hypnotherapy! Grrr! Sometimes Mum knows best.

I don't think single mumps vaccinations are available, it would have to be the whole MMR, and might as well be anyway. I'd still be surprised if a HP would fund it though. I wish they would fund the HPV for 18 year old boys but they won't.

GP

This is what they said DS had at school

Diptheria/Tetanus/Polio (DTP) – 24/02/15

Meningitis C – 24/02/15

Meningitis ACWY (Men ACWY) - 31/01/17

Do they routinely have the heaf test and TB jab now? I remember DS (who is 18) had a friend in the year above who had it a few years ago, possibly in about year 9, but DS's year were not offered it.

Here's the NHS page about bcg Fozzley - looks as though it is only those at particular risk.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/bcg-tuberculosis-tb-vaccine/

Thanks, Sooner - that's really helpful, and explains why the policy was changed just before DS's year would other wise have had it.

...although why the surgery could not have told me that, I don't know! They seemed to imply he'd need it, bit it was not their responsibility.

I'm a bit of a broken record on this, but did you speak to the practice nurse at your surgery? They tend to be extremely knowledgeable about vaccination schedules - and may know whether you're in an at risk area. Though I see that the page does say BCG is not often given to over 16 yr olds anyway!

Sooner, unless I make an appointment to see the practice nurse, the receptionist takes the enquiry, then gets a (half) answer and calls me to relay it back. I did ask if there was any point in getting DS to see the practice nurse, but they seem reluctant unless we're actually after having anything done - it's a bit of a Catch 22.

I reckon turning up with DS and getting them to check his record there and then and tell me whether he needs anything else, then make an appointment to see the nurse if there is any risk that he has missed anything, is the only way to go.

The NHS round here provides fantastic care once you're in front of a HCP, but the admin is shocking.