A month after it was announced traces of poliovirus were detected in sewage samples in North and East London, increasing numbers of parents in the capital are booking appointments to get their children vaccinated, as NHS London is urging others to check their child’s immunisation status is up to date.
All parents – especially those with children aged 5 or under – are being encouraged to ensure their young ones are vaccinated against polio, a rare but serious infection.
The polio vaccine is free and given as part of combined jabs to babies, toddlers and teenagers as part of the NHS routine childhood vaccination schedule. It is given when a child is:
8, 12 and 16 weeks old as part of the 6-in-1 vaccine (DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB)
3 years and 4 months old as part of the 4-in-1 (DTaP/IPV) pre-school booster
14 years old as part of the 3-in-1 (Td/IPV) teenage booster
Children need all 5 doses of the vaccine to be fully protected against polio.
Parents are advised to check their child’s Red Book or contact their GP surgery if they are unsure of their immunisation status. If a child has missed a dose of the polio vaccine, it is not too late to catch up.
The NHS in London is doing everything it can to ensure everyone in the capital who is not yet vaccinated against polio takes up the offer – from local NHS teams contacting their unvaccinated patients to additional jab clinics in schools. Local teams across London are also running targeted community outreach to boost immunisation levels in areas with lower rates of vaccination.
Following the recent findings, one GP surgery in East London – Aurora Medcare – has set up extra immunisation clinics and ordered additional supplies of the polio vaccine in a bid to respond to the needs of its local community.
Dr Jagan John, GP and member of the North East London Integrated Care Board said: “Although the risk of getting polio in London is extremely low, it is a serious infection which can have potentially devastating consequences so we wanted to ensure we’re doing all we can to help our community which is why we have set up extra vaccination clinics, running until late in the evening every day.
“As soon as we heard the news, our nursing team ordered more vaccines and set up the clinics to get children – and others who are not vaccinated – fully immunised.
“Through vaccination, polio is preventable, and I would urge parents, especially of young ones, to ensure their children are up to date with all their immunisations including against polio.”
Dr John said his GP surgery is now getting more queries from parents on a daily basis and has seen an increase in vaccination appointments over the past few weeks. The extra vaccination clinics will continue until at least September.
Mark Plastow, 34, lives in Barking in East London and has a son, Joshua, who is 3 and half years old. Joshua was last week given his second dose of the polio vaccine at Aurora Medcare. Mark said he was surprised to hear poliovirus was back in the news but feels reassured now Joshua has had the latest dose of the vaccine.
He said: “I thought it was all gone so I was taken aback on hearing the news.
“Everyone in our family was saying we needed to be careful, so my wife and I are really happy Joshua has had his second dose of the polio vaccine, giving him further protection.
“We really don’t know if this could become a bigger issue, and I know all parents want the best for their kids so I would most certainly encourage them to ensure their children are fully up to date with their polio vaccination – it’s in your kid’s best interest.”
Mark said the process was quick and easy and Joshua ‘took it well’.
