Changes to the Childhood Vaccination Programme announced earlier this year came into force today.
The changes introduce a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevenar®) into the schedule which will protect against pneumonia, septicaemia and meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. The introduction of this vaccine has some additional effects changing the dosing schedule for some of the other vaccinations.
More information on the current programme is available on the NHS Immunisation website. More information about the pneumococcal vaccination is available in the Summary of Product Characteristics.
Action: Clinicians should already be aware of the changes but may appreciate a reminder about the implementation date.