Vaccine-preventable food- and water-borne diseases

Poliomyelitis (Polio) is a viral infection that is potentially paralysing and mostly affects the under 5's. This disease is spread via the faecal-oral route and humans are the only natural known host...

Over 50s to be offered COVID-19 booster and flu jab this autumn

The programme of COVID-19 boosters is expected to start in early autumn, but further details have not been provided yet. Commenting on the autumn COVID-19 booster programme, Professor Anthony Harnden,...

Tools, guidance and key events for general practice nurses

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a mythbuster on pre-travel health services, providing information on governance and training and what the CQC look for when inspecting providers..

Mandatory vaccinations: to scrap or keep?

‘Practice Nursing provides nurses working in general practice with the tools to reach their full potential and deliver the best possible care to their patients. Our monthly journal informs and...

Shingles in adults: what the practice nurse needs to know

The overall incidence in adults is estimated to be 1.85 to 3.9 cases per 1000 population (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2021), with an increasing occurrence in older adults...

COVID vaccination: What's next?

There are concerns that developed countries such as the UK have resorted to ‘vaccine nationalism’, that is stockpiling vaccines to prioritise rapid access for their citizens due to public or political...

Evidence-based strategies to promote vaccine acceptance

The range of psychological, physical and contextual barriers to vaccination uptake are set out in a previous paper (While, 2021).

Understanding vaccine hesitancy: the evidence

The WHO commissioned a systematic review due to concern related to influenza vaccine hesitancy across the globe, which was particularly evident during the 2009–2010 H1N1 pandemic (WHO, 2016). The...

Compulsory vaccinations: sensible or coercive?

You know where you can stick that … or do you? Where to inject the deltoid and why

Finding the important landmarks of the deltoid in the living is not difficult and can soon be learned with a little practice on yourself, your partner and patients; having a clear mental picture...

Are BAME communities really reluctant to take the COVID-19 vaccination?

The RSPH commissioned a poll on public attitudes to the COVID-19 vaccine. They asked respondents ‘How likely or unlikely would you be to take a COVID-19 vaccine if you were advised by your GP or...

The ‘new normal’: delivering childhood immunisations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Delivery of the national immunisation programmes in general practice did not cease. Good coverage of immunisations is crucial to prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (such as pertussis...