 People are concerned over the safety of the new jab |
Child health experts have said parents should be reassured the new five-in-one combined jab will be better for babies. The vaccination will protect against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Hib and, for the first time, polio in a single shot.
Some parents' groups have expressed concerns over the vaccine's safety.
But writing in the British Medical Journal, experts from the Institute of Child Health say their fears are "regrettable" and "unfounded".
 |  What we want is for the Department of Health to take responsibility for vaccine-damaged children  |
Helen Bedford, from the Institute of Child Health in London, and David Elliman, a consultant in community child health at Great Ormond Street Hospital, criticised headlines of "chaos and panic" about the jab. They say the vaccine combination protects against the same five diseases as the existing vaccine, but in a "slightly different, more acceptable formulation".
The researchers said it was a natural progression because of how vaccine technology had developed.
'Fewer side effects'
Until now, a live polio vaccine had been given orally at the same time.
The researchers say this was necessary, even though there was a tiny risk that children could contract polio paralysis from the vaccine, because of the risks of contracting the disease around the world.
However, now that there is an extremely low risk of contracting polio, it is safe to move to an inactivated form of the virus.
The new combination jab will also use a different form of the whooping cough vaccine.
Dr Bedford and Dr Elliman said an as yet unpublished study had shown that it produced far fewer side effects, such as fever and soreness at the injection site, than the current version.
'Misconceptions'
Campaigners have welcomed the removal of mercury, (thiomersal) used as a preservative, from the new combination.
The researchers said there was no evidence it was linked to a risk of severe neurological damage, but that it was being removed as a precaution - and because the inactivated polio vaccine is not effective if mixed with mercury.
Dr Bedford and Dr Elliman said some parents' groups had expressed concern the combined jab could overload a baby's immune system.
They say: "This is based on two misconceptions. One is that the immune system has a limited and relatively small capacity that is pushed to the limits by multiple vaccines.
"The other is that the increase in the number of diseases being protected against means an increase in the number of antigens."
But the researchers point out that the new vaccine had far fewer antigens - about 3,000 less - than the one it was replacing, even though it protected against five diseases instead of four.
The experts said the new jab represented an important step forward in the UK's vaccination programme.
But they said: "However the benefits of the new vaccine do not outweigh the risks of delaying immunisation until its introduction.
"Such a delay would leave a child unnecessarily at risk of death and disability from whooping cough and Hib disease."
Transparency call
John Fletcher, of the group Jabs (Justice, Awareness and Basic Support) - a support network for parents who believe their children have been damaged by vaccines - said: "It doesn't matter how much doctors and scientists write in medical journals, it's not going to convince parents."
Mr Fletcher said: "What we want is for the Department of Health to take responsibility for vaccine-damaged children.
"We want transparency in how decisions about vaccines are made and for doctors to pass on parents reports of adverse effects suffered by their children after they have been given a vaccine. "
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