Immunisation: rotavirus (24 weeks)

Indicators

IND224: The percentage of babies who reached 24 weeks old in the preceding 12 months, who have received 2 doses of rotavirus vaccine before the age of 24 weeks.

IND225: The percentage of babies who reached 8 months old in the preceding 12 months, who have received 2 doses of a meningitis B vaccine before the age of 8 months.

IND226: The percentage of babies who reached 18 months old in the preceding 12 months, who have received 2 primary doses and 1 booster dose of a meningitis B vaccine before the age of 18 months.

Resource impact

Each of the interventions covered by the indicators IND224, IND225 and IND226 are well embedded in current clinical practice (UK Health Security Agency’s Complete routine immunisation schedule). The most recent childhood vaccination coverage statistics (NHS Digital, 2021) show that 90.2% of children in England were reported to have received 2 doses of the rotavirus vaccine (measured at 12 months), 92.1% of children in England received 2 doses of the meningitis B vaccine (measured at 12 months) and 89% of children in England received a booster dose of the meningitis B vaccine (measured at age 24 months).

The latest data available (Office for National Statistics, 2019) indicates that there were around 611,000 live births in England in 2019. On average, around 90.4% of children are vaccinated for the range of vaccinations in the proposed indicators. 

It is estimated that for every 1% increase in the current rate of vaccinations, there may be around an extra 1 child requiring vaccination per GP practice per year (see table 1). Any potential increase in current vaccination rates will depend on local circumstances and where the uptake of vaccinations is currently low, more appointments may be needed to discuss the benefits of the vaccinations.

Table 1 Estimated impact on activity for a theoretical 1%, 2% and 3% increase in the current vaccination rate (based on 10,000 registered patients in a GP practice)

Current average live births	Current average vaccination activity	Increased number of children with a 1% increase	Increased number of children with a 2% increase	Increased number of children with a 3% increase
108	98	1	2	3

Any increase in the number of vaccinations carried out due to the 3 new indicators are likely to take place in existing vaccination appointments or clinics. The impact on general practice is therefore anticipated to be minimal and the resource impact associated with any increase will not be significant.