The importance of vaccination
Firstly we would like to thank all the patients who attended our main covid/flu vaccination clinic on Saturday 30th September 2023. A big ‘thank you’ too to all the Tisbury Surgery staff who worked that day.
Vaccination rates have fallen over several years and additional disruption caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is likely to have caused some of the decreases in vaccine coverage seen in 2020 to 2022 compared with earlier years.
Anti-vaccine stories are often spread online through social media and offline. Always get your vaccine and health information from trusted sources, such as the NHS or World Health Organisation (WHO).
The vaccine information on social media may not be based on scientific evidence and could put your child at risk of a serious illness. All the current evidence tells us that getting vaccinated is safer than not getting vaccinated and vaccination is the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and our children against ill health. Vaccination prevents millions of deaths worldwide every year.
Since vaccines were introduced in the UK, diseases like smallpox, polio and tetanus that used to kill or disable millions of people are either gone or are now very rarely seen.
Other diseases like measles and diphtheria have reduced to a very low number of cases each year since vaccines were introduced. These cases are often related to travel.
However, if people stop having vaccines, it’s possible for infectious diseases to quickly spread again.
Measles and mumps are starting to appear again in England, even though the MMR vaccine is the best protection against both diseases. Measles cases nearly doubled between 2016 and 2018. Mumps cases tripled between 2018 and 2020.
If you have issues regarding the vaccines or information you have heard, please book in an appointment with one of our nursing team to discuss your concerns.
If you are unsure whether your child’s vaccinations are up to date or you would like to book them in, please call the Surgery.
The diabetic eye screening service which has held clinics for many years in the surgery has advised that they will in future be holding their clinics at Westminster Hospital in Shaftesbury. We have been assured that invitations to attend retinal screening will clearly show this as the venue.
Sister Victoria Smith