The DoH and the GPC will now negotiate payment and vaccination targets for GPs, following the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to expand the programme.

GPC chairman Dr Laurence Buckman said that although the number of under-fives was no larger than the current priority groups being immunised, vaccinating small children was ‘completely different' and would take much longer. 

Dr Buckman warned that some practices still have not received the first batch of doses for priority groups, and said it would take time to negotiate another deal for the under-fives.

Parents of small children are also more likely to report concerns with the mild side-effects of the vaccine, he added.