• Personal safety 

Anyone who is undertaking immunisations or handling body fluids should be vaccinated against hepatitis B. Pharmacy staff should talk to a GP or the service commissioner to find out what arrangements are in place for staff to be vaccinated. 

• Contraindications 

Almost all individuals can be safely vaccinated with all vaccines. Chapter 6 of The Green Book states that in very few individuals vaccination is contraindicated or should be deferred, and where there is doubt, advice should be sought from an appropriate specialist. 

There are vaccine-specific contraindications, which are detailed in the relevant chapters in part two of The Green Book.

• Adverse events 

Adverse events can be divided into four categories: 

Adverse events to medicines (including vaccines) are reported using the Yellow Card scheme.