Children’s vaccination catch-ups to be offered at half-term clinics in Central Bedfordshire

Families in Central Bedfordshire with children under five years of age whose vaccinations are not up to date have been reminded that the borough will host four catch-up clinics during half-term week.

A regular schedule of clinics has been established at venues across Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes, to help provide the protection children need against preventable infectious diseases.

Sites have been chosen to make it easy for families to drop in, with no booking required for these clinics.

Venues in Shefford, Ampthill, Sandy and Leighton Buzzard are available next week:

Mondays: Shefford Children’s Centre, School Lane, Shefford, SG17 5XA

27 May (12:30 to 3:30 pm); also 24 June, 22 July, 26 August (same times)

Tuesdays: Parkside Hall, Woburn Street, Ampthill, MK45 2HX

28 May (9:00 am to 12:00 noon); also 25 June, 23 July (both same times) and 27 August (9:00 am to 3:00 pm)

Wednesdays: Sandy Children’s Centre, Laburnum Road, Sandy, SG19 1HQ

29 May (9:00 am to 3:30 pm); also 24 July, 28 August (same times)

Thursdays: Leighton Buzzard Children’s Centre, East Street, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 1EW

30 May (9:00 am to 12:00 noon); also 25 July, 29 August (same times) and Friday 28 June (1:00 to 3:00 pm)

In recent years, the number of children vaccinated against many of the infections has fallen below the level necessary to prevent an outbreak.  Achieving high vaccination coverage across the population is important as it also helps to protect infants under one year old and other vulnerable groups who cannot be vaccinated.

Senior local doctors believe that, unless families come forward to catch up on missed vaccinations, the region may be vulnerable to large-scale outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as those seen recently in both London and the West Midlands, where many hundreds of children became sick with measles.

Dates have been announced for the summer term and summer holidays, which will allow families to get the protection their children need before starting school or nursery in September.

Dr Sanhita Chakrabarti, deputy chief medical director and clinical lead for children’s and maternity services at Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, said:

“There are lots of reasons why your child may not be up to date on all of their vaccinations.  We know that some families can’t attend routine appointments, stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of those children are now at school or coming up to school age.

“We also know that families sometimes change their minds so, even if you previously chose not to have your child vaccinated, the opportunity is still there.

“We have seen some small outbreaks locally, and we are now experiencing increased demand from parents for the protection which vaccination offers.  Many parents realise that the time to catch up on missing vaccinations is now, before the infections we’ve seen in other parts of England are repeated in our area, and this is a very sensible approach which I welcome.”