Diphtheria, Tetanus and Poliomyelitis Immunisation, Year 10

[Sparklingbrook]

DS1 (14) has just brought home a form for signing to say he can have the above jab.

Looks like they are asking if he can have it done by the School Health Service, or if we are going to take him to the Family Doctor.

Why would you choose your own Doctor? Do GP surgeries even do them?

I guess it's totally standard. I received a couple of letters of this sort from school for my Dd for the DTP and another vaccine just for girls (can't remember the name). Most likely the language is designed to convey the importance of immunisation one way or another; it is just more convenient at school. My Dd had DTP at the surgery because of an accident a few months before the letter from school arrived, so the reference to GP just prompted me to realise she had the vaccine and to decline the immunisation at school.

I also had misgivings about MMR for Dd2, so I had a few conversations with the nurse at the surgery before I agreed to the vaccination. The nurse had a very measured approach. She highlighted the benefits, but didn't push me. So, yes, the GP surgeries do do vaccinations on demand and do offer advice if you want to discuss/unsure about things.

Ooh thanks Vanilla. I didn't realise it was an option. I do think it would be just easier for him to have it done at school though.

I remember at school having one where you had to have a test a few weeks before to see if you needed the jab. Was that TB?

Yes I remember that and it was for TB - wasn't it called the BCG? I remember scratching the six needle bumps thing and then I didn't have to have it. Always wondered if I was really mind of whether the scratching caused the bumps to come up....???

*oops not mind - immune !

That' it Marmite. DH didn't have to have it but I did. Do they not do that one any more? i still have a lovely scar from it.

It depends on the area you're in as to where they receive the SLB (school leaver's booster).

Some will still do it in school time, others only offer it at your GP surgery. Some parents prefer to take their child for their vaccines at their surgery, especially if they have queries or concerns.

I work as a practice nurse and we give nearly all childhood and adult vaccines - here none are given in school except the HPV vaccine.

BCG vaccine is no longer given routinely, it's targeted depending on the area you live in and the risk of TB usually through family members/local population ethnicity and is usually offered at birth or preschool.

Thanks for the info Sidge, I am very out of date. I think I will just sign to say he can have it at school, less of a big deal then.

So another example of your post code dictating what happens then.

Sort of. ALL children should receive it, it just varies between areas as to where. Similar to how in some areas HVs do baby imms and in others us PNs do it.

It seems to depend on local health services provision and given that health authorities now commission their own services they can choose how to do it. However the childhood imms schedule is nationwide so they should all receive/be offered the same imms!

YY they will all hopefully get it in the end. But so much easier/cheaper for them to do it en masse at school?

When there was an outbreak at Southampton University, they set up the ref tables to make crush chutes and jabbed all 6000 students in two days ....

It's not a case of getting different treatment according to postcode, more a case of medical need in this case Sparklingbrook. Some areas of the country have much higher levels of TB than others. Only those living in higher risk areas need to be immunised.

I was thinking more of whether they had the polio/dipth/tetanus at school or GPS Back. But I didn't realise the TB thing was regional though.

They do TB at 6 weeks in areas of London at significant risk, rather than waiting for year 10. When ds was that age I changed GPs from Merton to Lambeth so he was suddenly eligible and I got him jabbed.

Oh, sorry Sparkling

Oh don't be Back. I didn't realise til the letter came home that it wasn't the TB jab he was having. Now that's