Here are all the vaccinations children are recommended to have, at what age and what they protect against.<\/p>\n
Babies under one year old<\/p>\n
At eight weeks, babies are recommended to have the following jabs:<\/p>\n
\u2022 6-in-1 vaccine
\u2022 Rotavirus vaccine
\u2022 MenB vaccine<\/p>\n
The 6-in-1 vaccine protects against the following illnesses:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Diphtheria – a contagious infection that affects the nose and throat, and sometimes the skin;
\u2022 Hepatitis B – a liver infection that is spread through blood, semen and vaginal fluids;
\u2022 Haemophilus influenzae type b (known as Hib) – a type of bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections;
\u2022 Polio – a virus that spreads easily from person to person and can cause symptoms that affect the brain and nervous system;
\u2022 Tetanus – a life-threatening condition caused by bacteria getting into a wound;
\u2022 Whooping cough – an infection of the lungs and breathing tubes that spreads easily.<\/p>\n
The rotavirus vaccine helps protect against rotavirus, a common cause of diarrhoea and vomiting that can be very common in children and young babies.<\/p>\n
The MenB vaccine can protect against a bacteria known as meningococcal group B that can cause serious illnesses, including meningitis and sepsis.<\/p>\n
A second dose of all three of the above is administered again at 12 weeks old.<\/p>\n
When a baby reaches 16 weeks, the NHS recommends a third dose of the 6-in-1 vaccine, as well as the Pneumococcal vaccine.<\/p>\n
This helps protect against serious illnesses like:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Meningitis – an infection in the brain and spinal cord;
\u2022 Sepsis – a life-threatening reaction to an infection;
\u2022 Pneumonia – an infection in the lungs.<\/p>\n
Children aged one to three<\/p>\n
At one year, the NHS recommends babies have their first MMR vaccine.<\/p>\n
This gives long-term protection against:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Measles – an infection that causes a rash and flu-like symptoms;
\u2022 Mumps – an infection that causes painful swelling on the cheeks and neck;
\u2022 Rubella – often referred to as German measles, and can cause a rash over the body.<\/p>\n
As of January 2026<\/a>, babies aged between 12 and 18 months will also get the varicella vaccine, which protects against chickenpox.<\/p>\n The varicella vaccination will be combined with the MMR vaccine, making it the MMRV.<\/p>\n Image: The vaccine provides around 98% protection in children and about 75% protection in adults after two doses, and is expected to protect around 500,000 babies every year when rolled out by the NHS.<\/p>\n The health service also recommends children having the following vaccines at the age of one:<\/p>\n \u2022 A second dose of the Pneumococcal vaccine; For babies born before 30 June 2024, the NHS recommends a Hib\/MenC vaccine at the age of one. This protects against hib and meningitis C.<\/p>\n Due to the Hib\/MenC vaccine being discontinued, when babies born after 1 July 2024 reach 18 months old, they are offered:<\/p>\n \u2022 A fourth dose of the 6-in-1 vaccine; \n When do adults need vaccines?\n <\/p>\n Like babies and children of a certain age, those aged 65 and over are also recommended vaccinations.<\/p>\n The NHS offers the flu vaccine every year to those over 65.<\/p>\n The shingles vaccine is also offered to those who turned 65 on or after 1 September 2023, and to those aged 70-79.<\/p>\n For 75 to 79 -year-olds, the RSV vaccine is recommended. This helps protect against respiratory syncytial virus, which can cause pneumonia and bronchiolitis in older or younger people.<\/p>\n People aged 75 and over are also offered the COVID-19 vaccine. Typically, vaccines against coronavirus are offered in the spring and winter.<\/p>\n At the age of two, the NHS recommends:<\/p>\n \u2022 A flu vaccine.<\/p>\n It says flu can spread easily among children, and vaccinating them helps protect others who are at higher risk of getting seriously ill.<\/p>\n It is offered again to:<\/p>\n \u2022 Children aged three; At three years and four months old, a second dose of MMR is recommended for children born on or before 30 June 2024.<\/p>\n The 4-in-1 school booster vaccine is also offered.<\/p>\n This helps protect against diphtheria, polio, whooping cough and tetanus and is given to children before they start school.<\/p>\n Image: Teenagers aged 12-14<\/p>\n From 12 to 13, teenagers are offered the HPV vaccine, which helps protect against human papillomavirus, a common virus that’s spread through skin contact.<\/p>\n Girls under 25 and boys born after 1 September 2006 who missed having the vaccine at school can also get the vaccine through their GP.<\/p>\n \n Pregnant? You could also need vaccinations\n <\/p>\n The NHS recommends the following to those who are pregnant:<\/p>\n \u2022 A flu vaccine during flu season (October to March in the UK)\n<\/p>\n \u2022 A whooping cough vaccine at 20 weeks pregnant<\/p>\n \u2022 An RSV vaccine at 28 weeks pregnant<\/p>\n At 14 years old, the NHS recommends the following:<\/p>\n \u2022 Td\/IPV vaccine (3-in-1 teenage booster) – this helps protect against tetanus, diphtheria and polio. It’s recommended for children in year nine at school, and those at higher risk of the illnesses; While babies are given the MenB vaccine to help protect against a common type of bacteria that causes meningitis, the MenACWY vaccine helps protect against four other types of bacteria linked to the virus.<\/p>\n Read more: Missed a vaccination?<\/p>\n The NHS says to contact your GP if you think you or your child has missed any vaccinations.<\/p>\n Most immunisations can be taken after the recommended age.<\/p>\n Some babies and children may also require further vaccines if they are at risk of a particular illness or have an underlying health condition.<\/p>\n Those that have had a serious allergic reaction to any vaccination or are allergic to any of the ingredients will not receive it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From eight weeks until 14 years old, the NHS recommends a number of vaccines for children and teenagers.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-101880","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Chickenpox](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/skynews-chickenpox-infection_7004240.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Chickenpox infection <\/p>\n
\u2022 A third dose of the MenB vaccine.<\/p>\n
\u2022 A second MMR vaccine.<\/p>\n
\u2022 School children from reception to year 11;
\u2022 From the age of six months to 17 years to those with certain long-term health conditions.<\/p>\n![\"File](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/skynews-vaccination-children_7004627.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n File pic: iStock<\/p>\n
\u2022 MenACWY vaccine – this helps protect against meningitis and sepsis.<\/p>\n
Child vaccine rates lowest in more than a decade<\/a>
MMR uptake hits 15-year low<\/a><\/p>\n