Topic Report: Children and young people 2023
6. Immunisations
The proportion of children receiving the major childhood vaccinations is higher in Buckinghamshire than the national average and has increased from 2019/2020 to 2020/2021 despite the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought.
| Indicators | Bucks (April 2019 to March 2020) | South-East (April 2019 to March 2020) | England (April 2019 to March 2020) | Bucks (April 2020 to March 2021) | South-East (April 2020 to March 2021) | England (April 2020 to March 2021) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB8 | 94.5 | 94.3 | 92.6 | 94.4 | 93.7 | 92.0 |
| PCV9 | 94.9 | 94.6 | 93.2 | NA | NA | NA |
| Rotavirus | 91.8 | 91.8 | 90.1 | 92.2 | 91.9 | 90.2 |
| MenB | 93.9 | 93.9 | 92.5 | 94.4 | 93.6 | 92.1 |
| Indicators | Bucks (April 2019 to March 2020) | South-East (April 2019 to March 2020) | England (April 2019 to March 2020) | Bucks (April 2020 to March 2021) | South-East (April 2020 to March 2021) | England (April 2020 to March 2021) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB* | 95.9 | 95.0 | 93.8 | 95.6 | 95.0 | 93.8 |
| MMR 1st dose | 93.1 | 92.7 | 90.6 | 94.1 | 92.3 | 90.3 |
| Hib/MenC | 92.9 | 92.5 | 90.5 | 94.1 | 92.1 | 90.2 |
| PCV booster | 93.1 | 92.5 | 90.4 | 94.1 | 93.0 | 90.1 |
| MenB booster | 91.6 | 91.2 | 88.7 | 92.9 | 91.6 | 89.0 |
| Indicators | Bucks (April 2019 to March 2020) | South-East (April 2019 to March 2020) | England (April 2019 to March 2020) | Bucks (April 2020 to March 2021) | South-East (April 2020 to March 2021) | England (April 2020 to March 2021) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTaP/IPV/Hib10* | 97.2 | 95.3 | 95.2 | 96.9 | 95.7 | 95.2 |
| DTaP/IPV booster | 90.0 | 87.5 | 85.4 | 90.6 | 88.6 | 85.3 |
| MMR 1st dose* | 96.5 | 95.0 | 94.5 | 96.1 | 95.3 | 94.3 |
| MMR 2nd dose | 91.4 | 89.1 | 86.8 | 91.6 | 89.5 | 86.6 |
| HibB/MenC* | 94.9 | 92.6 | 92.5 | 94.7 | 93.5 | 92.3 |
Glossary:
- DTaP/IPV/Hib: This 5 in 1 vaccine protects children against 5 separate diseases (diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Haemophilus Influenza type b)
- MMR: Measles, mumps and rubella
- HibB/MenC: Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and meningitis C
Data Source: Childhood Vaccination Coverage Statistics - NHS Digital
Vaccine uptake for PCV in infancy during 2020/2021 is not presented as the schedule for this vaccination changed during the assessment period.
* These rows show uptake percentages for vaccine whereby the initial course should have been completed in earlier ages: i.e. for DTAP/IPV/hib - the initial course should be completed by 12 months with no new vaccines from 12 to 24 months).
Therefore, the statistic for DTAP/IPV/Hib at 2 years mainly represents vaccine uptake from the previous years-but additionally including the catch up of children who had yet to complete their vaccine schedule.
Vaccine rates for routine childhood vaccinations and against COVID-19 vary significantly according to deprivation within Buckinghamshire, with lower uptake in the more deprived areas. For example, for pre-school boosters there is a 10% gap between the most and least deprived areas.
This can lead to increased susceptibility to serious and potentially fatal illnesses for children in these areas, alongside higher risk of outbreaks.