Catch-up clinics to vaccinate teens and children

Catch-up clinics are being held for teenagers and younger children who have missed a vaccination in school.

The Wolverhampton clinics will offer free vaccinations including of the HPV vaccine and the Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (DTP) vaccine, to children in Year 8 and above.

Bal Kaur, consultant in public health at the city council, said such vaccinations offered "the best protection for teenagers as they start their journey into adulthood".

Run by Vaccination UK, the next clinic will be held at Whitmore Reans Family Hub, Lansdowne Road, from 09.30 to 14:00 BST on Saturday.

A second clinic will be held during the same hours at Rocket Pool Family Hub, Rocket Pool Drive, Bilston, on Saturday 13 July.

The city council said the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine helped protect against genital warts and HPV-related cancers, such as cervical cancer.

Meanwhile the DTP booster was the "last routine dose that provides young people with long-lasting protection into adulthood", it said.

The clinics will also offer the Meningococcal (Men ACWY) vaccination for teenagers in Year 9 and above and the MMR vaccination for all school-aged children.

Ms Kaur said children may have missed vaccinations because they were off school at the time or are home educated.