Broadcast Content: To: Directors of Public Health of PCTs to forward to: - All GENERAL PRACTITIONERS - please ensure this message is seen by all practice nurses and non-principals working in your practice and retain a copy in your `locum information pack'. - Deputising services - Immunisation Co-ordinators - Project manager/Nurse lead in Walk in Centres - Leads at nurse-led PMS Pilots - Lead Nurses in PCTs - PCT Pharmaceutical Advisers to forward to Community Pharmacists - PCT Prescribing Advisers To: Medical Directors of NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts to forward to: - all relevant hospital doctors - Nurse Executive Directors of NHS Trusts - Trust Chief Pharmacists to forward to Medicines Information Pharmacists To: CCDCs Cc: - Regional Directors of Public Health - Directors of Public Health of Strategic Health Authorities - UK CMOs - Chairmen of Professional Executive Committee New Childhood Vaccines I am sure that you are aware of the current media coverage about proposed changes to the childhood immunisation programme. This has come about because information on the new programme was unfortunately leaked to the media. We are concerned that parents of young children may be alarmed by the reports and want to ensure that health professionals have the facts. A CMO letter providing information about the new vaccines will be arriving at surgeries on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and is available to download now at http://www.dh.gov.uk/AboutUs/HeadsOfProfession/ChiefMedicalOfficer/CMOLetters/fs/en .The website www.immunisation.nhs.uk will contain a wide range of information about the new vaccines from Tuesday 10 August. 1. Firstly, no childhood vaccines are being withdrawn because of safety concerns. The current vaccines used for babies at 2, 3 and 4 months of age will continue to be used until the end of September/beginning of October. These vaccines – DTwP/Hib, OPV and MenC vaccines – have an excellent safety record and have been very effective in protecting children against serious diseases. 2. From the end of September/beginning of October, a new combined infant vaccine will be introduced – DTaP/IPV/Hib. This will replace the DTwP/Hib and OPV vaccines that are currently given. It will be given to babies at the same time as the MenC. The reasons for the changes are: - IPV (inactivated polio vaccine) does not carry the very slight risk of causing vaccine-associated paralytic polio that is the case with OPV. We can switch to IPV now because the risk of polio being imported into the UK is minimal. This is due to the success of the global initiative to eradicate polio. - acellular vaccines (such as acellular pertussis (aP) vaccine) cause fewer adverse reactions, such as soreness or swelling at the site of injection. In addition, the new vaccines do not contain thiomersal. This is because thiomersal cannot be used as a preservative in combination with IPV. It does not reflect any safety concerns of links between autism and thiomersal. A factsheet on thiomersal is available at http://www.immunisation.org.uk/pdf/thiomersal%20fsht.pdf 3. The current vaccines should continue to be given until surgeries receive supplies of the new vaccines in late September/early October. The new vaccines have been used extensively in Canada over the last seven years and their safety and efficacy have been carefully evaluated Please provide copies of this information to any of your patients for whom it would be helpful. Dr David Salisbury Director of Immunisation Services, Department of Health For further information please contact: Robert Duff – robert.duff@doh.gsi.gov.uk – 020 7972 3807 Additional Information: