Children taking part in a new meningitis vaccination programme – which starts next week – will need to be given paracetamol to prevent fever, public health officials said yesterday.
The meningococcal group B vaccination programme begins on Tuesday and will be offered to children at two months, four months and 12 months.
The programme is using the Bexsero vaccine.
Public Health England head of immunisation Dr Mary Ramsay said: “Bexsero has a good safety record, but Public Health England is also making parents aware of an increased risk of fever when the vaccine is given alongside other immunisations, and the need to purchase infant liquid paracetamol for the two and four month appointment visits.
“It’s important that parents use paracetamol following vaccination to reduce the risk of fever.
"The fever peaks around six hours after vaccination but is nearly always mild and gone within two days. The fever shows the baby’s body is responding to the vaccine – although the level of fever depends on the individual child and does not indicate how well the vaccine has worked. Some infants may not develop a fever at all.
“We know that fever in young infants may cause some parents concern, but it’s important to be aware that it will be short-lived in nearly all cases."
Christopher Head, chief executive of the Meningitis Research Foundation, said: “This vaccine could potentially prevent up to 4,000 cases of meningococcal disease in children younger than 5 years in the UK.
"However, we must remind the public that there are still some forms of the disease which are not covered by vaccines so it is vital that people are still aware of the symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia.”
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