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Immunizations - childhood vaccination programme - Management
Which children require additional immunization against pneumococcal disease, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, chickenpox, or influenza?

  • Pneumococcal disease:
      • Children over 2 years of age with comorbidities such as asplenia or splenic dysfunction; chronic heart, renal, liver, or respiratory disease (but not non-severe asthma); diabetes; or immunosuppression, may require additional immunization with the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV — Pneumovax II®).
      • Children aged 1–2 years of age with the above comorbidities who have completed their three doses of Prevenar® should be offered an additional dose of Prevenar 13®. For further information see the CKS topic on Immunizations - pneumococcal.
  • Influenza: additional immunization to protect against influenza may be required in children over 6 months of age with comorbidities such as chronic heart, renal, liver, or respiratory disease (including asthma), or who have immunosuppression. For further information, see the CKS topic on Immunizations - seasonal influenza.
  • Tuberculosis (TB): vaccination with Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is now targeted at children most at risk. Typically this is children from countries where TB is prevalent, or children who have a parent of grandparent from a country where TB is prevalent.
  • Hepatitis B: children born to a mother or living with parents who are known to have hepatitis B, or whose parents are intravenous drug users, should be vaccinated. Children who receive regular blood transfusions (e.g. for haemophilia) should also be vaccinated.
  • Chickenpox: vaccination is recommended for susceptible children who are contacts of people who are immunocompromised (e.g. they have a sibling with leukaemia or parent undergoing chemotherapy).

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