Childhood Immunisations

Latest Childhood Immunisation Uptake rates by NHS Board and Scotland: up to 30th September 2009

There have been a number of changes to the childhood immunisation programme since September 2006:

• a new PCV immunisation was introduced
• a change was made to the schedule given in the first 4 months of life
• there was the addition of an appointment at around 12 months to deliver the Hib/Men C booster
• a pneumococcal catch up campaign commenced
• in September 2007 a Hib vaccination catch up programme was introduced
• an initiative to reduce the age at which pre-school immunisation is routinely offered to around 3.5 years of age.

The consequence of these changes is that each child needs more appointments and this may lead to some older children receiving their immunisations slightly later than scheduled due to prioritisation of younger children for primary immunisation appointments. This may have reduced the reported uptake rates for some vaccines by 5 years of age during the first half of 2008 though rates are now around previous levels. Uptake rates by 6 years of age have remained high throughout.

The latest childhood immunisation uptake rates by 12 months, 24 months, 5 years and 6 years, by NHS board and Scotland can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Latest Quarterly Uptake Rates 1st July to 30th September 2009 [123 KB]

Financial Year ending 31st March 2009 [ 122 KB]

Calendar Year ending 31st December 2008 [139 KB]

Data are also available for immunisation uptake rates by NHS Board from previous quarters and years. 

Or see the Trends in Immunisation uptake page.

Childhood immunisation uptake rates by Community Health Partnership (CHP) are also available.

The key points for quarter ending 30 September 2009, at Scotland level, are:

Uptake rates by 12 months of age

• Uptake rates by 12 months of age for primary courses of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, MenC and PCV remain above 95%.

Uptake rates by 24 months of age

• Uptake rates by 24 months of age for primary courses of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, MenC and PCV remain high and stable at around 96% to 98%.
  
• The combined Hib/MenC booster (normally given at around 12 months of age) was introduced in September 2006. This required the inclusion of an additional immunisation appointment in the childhood schedule. Uptake of this vaccine by 24 months of age has risen each quarter to reach 94.3% for the latest quarter (the previous quarterly figure was 94.1%).
  
• A booster dose of PCV was also introduced in September 2006 (normally given at the same appointment as the first dose of MMR at around 13 months of age). Uptake for this vaccine by 24 months of age is 94.8%, (the previous quarterly figure was 93.8%).
  
• Uptake of one dose of MMR (MMR1) by 24 months is 93.8% (up by 0.5 percentage points on the previous quarterly figure of 93.3%). MMR1 uptake rates by 24 months have continued to be above 90% since autumn 2005.

Uptake rates by 5 years of age

• Uptake of one dose of MMR (MMR1) by 5 years is 96.2%, the same as the previous quarter. This once again exceeds the 95% target. By 24 months the reported uptake for this cohort of children was 92.0% showing that a significant number of children are immunised beyond the standard age.
  
• Uptake of the second dose of MMR (MMR2) by 5 years old is 90.1%. This is an increase of 2.6 percentage points on the previous quarter when the rate was 87.5%. Other pre-school booster vaccines experienced a similar rise (from 89.6% to 92.6%).

 

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