To the doctor: Having an injection - KS1

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Introduction for teachers
This story is from the point of view of an older brother accompanying his baby sister and mother to the doctors while the little girl has her MMR vaccination. He learns why children are vaccinated and what MMR stands for.

Introduction for children
Today we're going to be talking about going to see the doctor. Lots of us go to see the doctor several times every year for all sorts of things. For example, if we've fallen and hurt ourselves we might go to see a doctor, or if we're feeling poorly, or if we need medicine to make us healthy.

[You could ask children what other reasons there might be to go to the doctor, but this is a potentially sensitive issue.]

But there is another reason why we go to the doctor. Sometimes doctors can give us medicine to stop us getting ill in the first place.

Today we're going to be hearing a story about a brother who goes to the doctor when his little sister is going to have injection.

Story
Michael wasn't going straight home after school. His mum was taking him and his baby sister Rosie to the doctors.

‘Why are you going to the doctors?' said his friend Luke. ‘Are you ill?'

‘No,' said Michael. ‘My sister Rosie is going to have an injection, that's all.'

Luke looked puzzled. ‘Is Rosie ill?'

‘No,' said Michael. ‘She's having an injection so she won't be ill.'

‘What's the injection?' said Luke. ‘I don't like having those: they use a big needle and it makes your arm sting.'

Michael shook his head. ‘I don't know what it's for. I'll ask mum: she'll know.'

So after school, when Michael's mum met him in the playground, he asked her what sort of injection Rosie was going to have.

‘It's an MMR vaccination,' said his mum. She looked at Rosie sleeping quietly in her stroller and stroked her soft cheek.

‘What does it do?' said Michael.

‘It's an injection that will stop her getting three different illnesses: measles, mumps and rubella.'

Michael hadn't heard of any of those illnesses.

‘Will it stop her getting chickenpox?' he said.

‘No,' said his mum.

‘Will it stop her getting a cold,' he said.

‘No,' said his mum.

‘Will it stop her getting hay fever like me,' he said.

‘No,' said his mum smiling, ‘but it will stop her getting measles, mumps or rubella.'

She decided to explain a bit more.

‘All those three illnesses can make you feel very ill indeed,' she said, ‘but if you have the vaccination it means that you won't get nearly so ill. If you meet anyone who has those viruses - the invisible germs that make you sick - your body will be able to fight off the illness.'

Michael thought about that. It sounded pretty good. Then he said,

‘Luke said that having an injection hurts. Is he right?'

‘Hmm,' said his mum. ‘Not really. I suppose the skin can feel a little bit sore afterwards: it's a bit like knocking your elbow on the edge of a table. It stings for a second and then you forget about it until you prod yourself in the same place later.'

‘But Rosie's very little,' said Michael. ‘Won't she be upset? She won't understand about vac... vaccy...'

‘The word is ‘vaccination',' said his mum. ‘No, she won't understand so we'll just try and make it as easy as possible for her. I've dressed her in a loose romper suit that can be unbuttoned really quickly. It'll be over before she knows what happens - and then I've got a little jar of strawberry jam: you know how she loves that so I'll just give her a little taste of that and tell her she's been a good girl.'

‘Am I going to have a vac... vac...' said Michael.

His mum laughed. ‘You've already had yours, Michael. Don't you remember?'

Michael shook his head.

‘See,' said his mum. ‘It can't be that bad if you don't remember anything about it. You had your MMR jab when you were about a year old and then the year you started primary school you had another one and several others to protect you against other illnesses, too.'

Michael was surprised: he couldn't remember having any vaccinations.

‘Is it only children who have vaccin... jab thingys?' he said.

His mum shook her head.

‘No, adults have them, too. Your gran has a flu jab every year because she has asthma and her lungs need to be protected. And sometimes you have a vaccination if you're going on holiday to another country that has illnesses that we don't have here. But don't worry; our holiday is in Scotland - you won't need any vaccinations to go there.'

‘Luke said vaccinations are given in a needle,' said Michael. ‘I don't understand how that works.'

In his head he was imagining a needle like his mum sewed on buttons with.

‘Well, said his mum, ‘a doctor's needle is actually a very, very thin tube with a point at one end, and a little container of medicine at the other. The nurse will gently push the point of the needle into your arm, or into your thigh, and then the medicine runs down the narrow tube and into your arm or leg. It's all over very quickly.'

‘Do lots of people have this injection?' said Michael.

‘Oh yes,' said his mum. ‘All children in this country can have it and most of them do. Other countries around the world offer it as well.'

That made Michael thoughtful.

‘Won't the needle get a bit blunt?' he said worriedly. ‘I mean, Shauna Yates is always called out last because her name starts with a Y. So loads of people will have gone before her.'

His mum smiled.

‘Well, that's a good point... ha, ha... point... do you get it? Oh, never mind. Actually they use a different needle for every single person the nurse or doctor sees. So, no, they never get blunt. You definitely don't have to worry about that.'

Michael felt relieved: he'd begun to feel a bit worried for Susan Yates. And imagine if her name had started with a Z!

Then he thought of something else.

‘We won't be able to go swimming tomorrow, will we?' he said.

‘Why's that?' said his mum, looking surprised.

‘Well,' said Michael, rolling his eyes, ‘Rosie will have a hole in her arm, won't she? She might leak - and then all the medicine will fall out!'

His mum tried very hard not to smile.

‘Rosie won't leak, I promise you. Not from her vaccination, that's for sure! Firstly, the needle's point is so tiny, that the hole will be very small. Secondly, skin really is incredible: it closes up very quickly if you have an injection. I mean, think how quickly it closes up if you cut yourself. Any bleeding stops in less than a minute - or a lot less if it's something tiny like a paper cut, for example. There is absolutely no reason at all why we can't take Rosie swimming tomorrow.'

Michael felt a lot better after he heard that. Then he remembered he had another question.

‘How long does the medicine last?' he said. ‘Will Rosie need to have another MMR vaccination?'

‘That's a good question,' said his mum. ‘The answer is that she'll have a second injection just before she goes to primary school. It's just to make sure that the medicine has really worked. Most children will have that. But then the good news is that the medicine lasts for the rest of her life: she'll never need to have the MMR vaccination again.'

‘Wow!' said Michael. ‘That is very strong medicine! It's like magic!'

‘Yes,' said his mum seriously. ‘It is very clever stuff. Before it was invented, a lot of children used to get very sick from those illnesses. We're very lucky in this country that we have medicine to help us keep well.'

Just then Rosie gave a big yawn and woke up, gazing up with big, brown eyes.

‘You're so lucky, Rosie,' said Michael. ‘Mum's got some of your favourite strawberry jam for you after we've been to the doctors.'

He sounded so wistful that his mum laughed and said, ‘I expect Rosie can spare a bit to share with her big brother!'

That sounded just fine to Michael.

Conclusion
Michael learned that lots of children in Britain have vaccinations to protect them against illnesses that could make them sick.

He also learned exactly what was going to happen at the doctors and that is was really nothing to worry about at all.

Prayer
Dear Father,
Thank you for the doctors and nurses who give us our vaccinations to keep us well. Thank you for the doctors and scientists who have helped to make all the different medicines. Amen.

Thought
All vaccinations have to be invented. We should be very thankful to the nurses, doctors and scientists who work so hard to invent different medicines and vaccinations.

Things to think about
How would you explain to a little brother or sister what going to the doctor to have a vaccination was for?

Further information

• Find out more about NHS vaccinations for children.