DTap/IPV (preschool) booster

The DTaP/IPV vaccine is a pre-school vaccine that should be offered when your child is three years and four months old, or soon after.

It is given as a single injection directly into the muscle in the upper arm.

Pre-school booster vaccinations are given to make sure that the vaccinations given to children when they are babies provide enough protection throughout their school years. 

The pre-school vaccinations top up your child’s level of antibodies. Antibodies are proteins produced by your immune system that help fight off disease and keep you protected.

Who should not have it

There are very few children who cannot have this vaccine.

This vaccine should not be given to children who have had an anaphylactic reaction (serious allergic reaction) to a previous dose of the vaccine, or a reaction to any part of the vaccine that may be present in tiny amounts, such as neomycin, streptomycin or polymixin B. 

There are no other medical reasons why these vaccines should not be given. Children with a minor illness without a fever, such as a cough or cold, should be offered the vaccination.

If your child is ill with a fever, vaccination should be delayed until they have recovered. This is to avoid wrongly associating any progression of the illness with the vaccine.

Other vaccines

The DTaP/IPV booster can be given at the same time as any other vaccine (such as MMR, flu or BCG), but the vaccines should be injected in a different site.