Vaccines are the safest way to protect you and your family from serious infections and help you stay healthy.
It is good to check with your GP practice and make sure you have had all of the vaccines we offer for free here in England. It does not matter if you have missed them; it is important to catch up and get protected.
To protect children as early as possible many vaccines are offered to babies and toddlers before they start school. If you are unsure if you or your child has had all the recommended vaccinations in England - check with your GP practice.
Further information on the need to register with a GP to get routine vaccinations can be found in the NHS Get up-to-date with your vaccinations leaflet.
Translated versions are available to download or print locally in the following languages:
Routine Vaccinations
Vaccinations are offered to new-born babies, young children, teenagers, pregnant women and older people. You can find out more about the vaccination schedule on NHS.UK. If you have missed any of the vaccines in the UK schedule, you may still need protection, even at an older age. Ask your GP or nurse to check if you need a catch-up dose.
Babies and toddlers need vaccinations to protect them from childhood infections including:
- measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
- rotavirus
- diphtheria
- whooping cough
- meningitis
- polio
- tetanus
- hepatitis B
- tuberculosis (TB)
- and more
Pre-school children need booster vaccinations for some of the diseases listed above. This helps to protect children better and for longer. Primary school children are a flu vaccination every year.
Teenagers need another top up (booster) vaccination for some of these infections, including meningitis, to give longer lasting protection into adulthood. They are also offered the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine which can prevent some cancers.
If you are planning a baby, then you should check you have received all of your vaccinations, especially 2 doses of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), before you get pregnant. MMR vaccine provides long-lasting protection against all strains of measles.
If you are pregnant, you need vaccinations to protect you and your baby from whooping cough and flu. You should also be screened (have a blood test) for infections such as hepatitis B which can pass from mother to child. Some babies may need an extra hepatitis B vaccination at birth.
Older people need vaccinations to protect them against flu, pneumonia and shingles.
Some people are more likely to suffer serious illness from infections and should be offered extra vaccinations to help protect them. This includes people living with a chronic illness that affects their major organs or their immune system.
Talk to your GP or practice nurse to check if you or your child need any routine or extra vaccine. You should also tell your GP about any other routine vaccinations that you have had elsewhere. This is so the NHS can update your vaccination record.
Bookings to make an appointment to get your previous vaccinations recorded can be made online using the National Booking Service or by calling 119 where translators will be available.
Seasonal vaccinations
We urge all those eligible to get their Covid-19 booster vaccines and flu jabs as soon as you can.
You can get a flu jab if you are:
- in a clinical risk group (aged 6 months to under 50 years)
- pregnant
- aged 50 years and over (including those who will be 50 years old by 31 March 2023
- in long-stay residential care home
- a carer
- a close contact of an immunocompromised individual
- a frontline health or social care worker
Children in the following groups are also eligible:
- aged 2 and 3 years on 31 August 2022
- school aged children (all primary school aged children, reception year to year 6, and eligible secondary school aged children)
Ask your pharmacist or GP if you’re eligible for a free flu vaccine.
COVID-19 is more serious in older people and in people with certain health conditions. People aged 75 years and over, those in care homes, and those aged 5 years and over with a weakened immune system are being offered primary and booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine. If you have already had a Covid-19 vaccine elsewhere outside of the UK, speak to your GP about which further doses you should have in the UK and when you should have them.
Visit our vaccination webpage for more information.
