Polio Booster Campaign

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Following the detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples from Beckton earlier this year, the JCVI has recommended an urgent inactivated polio vaccine booster campaign for all 1-9 year olds in London to supplement the catch-up campaign already underway across London.

What is being offered to children aged 1 to 9 in London?

In London, all children aged 1-9 years are being offered a dose of polio vaccine – whether it’s an extra booster dose or the next dose in their routine vaccination schedule. This is part of the incident response to ensure a high level of protection from paralysis and to help stop the virus spreading further. The booster dose will be offered to children in the areas where type 2 poliovirus has been detected in wastewater first and then offered to all London boroughs.

When would my child have been vaccinated against polio?

The polio vaccine is free and given as part of combined jabs to babies, toddlers and teenagers. Children need all five doses of the vaccine to be fully protected against polio. The polio vaccine 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