Immunisation/vaccine preventable diseases

After clean water, vaccination is the most effective public health intervention in the world for saving lives and promoting good health.

The childhood vaccination programme has been a tremendous success in Northern Ireland over recent years. Our uptake rates are at an all-time high and Northern Ireland has uptake rates well above the UK average.

This is a tremendous tribute to GPs and all their staff, health visitors and everyone else involved in the vaccination programme who have worked so hard to achieve this.

The seasonal flu vaccine programme is also very successful, with Northern Ireland achieving the highest uptake in the UK.

The areas covered by the vaccination team include childhood vaccines, influenza vaccines, travel vaccines, occupational health vaccines, and the surveillance and control of vaccine preventable diseases.

Key areas of ongoing work

  • Maintaining and improving high uptake of the childhood vaccines particularly targeting areas / groups with comparatively low uptake
  • Training of health professionals and students in vaccination programmes
  • Introducing new vaccine programme updates
  • Managing the flu vaccine programme to achieve target uptake rates
  • Building on recently introduced HPV vaccine programme
  • Screening health care workers for measles immunity and vaccinating those not immune
  • Providing advice to Health professionals through the duty room
  • Responding to cases of vaccine preventable diseases

Key links

Measles

Meningococcal disease

Pertussis

Rubella

Pneumococcal disease

HIB

Influenza:
Health professionals
General public

General vaccination

Green Book

Travel vaccines sites:
NaTHNaC
Travax

Immunisation leaflets (Northern Ireland)

Vaccination surveillance data

NOIDS surveillance data

Transmit articles:
Childhood vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases

Transmit – issue Aug 2010

Transmit – issue Nov 2010

Meningococcal disease

Transmit – issue Feb 2011