Vaccination
Vaccination
Vaccinations are the best ways to prevent a disease. No vaccine is 100% protective; rarely
disease can occur even after vaccination. Even if the disease occurs in the vaccinated children,
the severity of the disease is significantly milder in a child who has received the vaccine. Most
vaccine side effects are mild and temporary, such as low-grade fever, fatigue or injection site
swelling. Serious side effects are extremely rare—and the risk of complications from the
diseases vaccines prevent is far greater.
In India, currently two kinds of immunization schedules are available. One, which is called as National Immunization Schedule (NIS), given by the Government, free of cost, all over the
country. This includes the bare minimum vaccines which every child in India must receive,
keeping public health as a focus. NIS schedule is as follows.
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Table 1 : Current National Immunization Schedule
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Age
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Vaccines
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Birth
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BCG, Hepatitis B, OPV0
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10 weeks
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Pentavalent-2 (DTwP + Hib + Hepatitis B), OPV2, Rotavirus-2
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14 weeks
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Pentavalent-3 (DTwP + Hib + Hepatitis B), OPV3, Rotavirus-3, PCV-2*, fIPV-1
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9–12 months
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MR-1**, JE-1*** PCV-3*
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16–24 months
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MR-2**, JE-2***, OPV4
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5–6 years
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DTwP
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10 and 15 years
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dT
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(BCG: bacillus Calmette–Guérin;
dT: diphtheria and tetanus toxoids;
DTwP: diphtheria, tetanus, whole cell pertussis;
fIPV: fractional-dose inactivated poliovirus vaccine;
Hib: Haemophilus influenzae type b;
JE: Japanese encephalitis;
MR: measles and rubella vaccine;
OPV: oral polio vaccine;
PCV: pneumococcal conjugate vaccine)
Notes:
*PCV is being introduced in phased manner, currently only in few states.
**Measles is being replaced with MR vaccine in phased manner, currently being given in most states except few.
***JE vaccine is given only in identified endemic districts of the country.
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Second one is recommended by Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) Immunization Schedule. This
also include many additional vaccines too, which are needed and are available in the country,
but not yet a part of NIS. IAP schedule is as follows.
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Table 2 : Current Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) immunization schedule
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Age
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Vaccines
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Birth
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BCG, hepatitis B, OPV0
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6 weeks
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DTwP/DTaP + Hib + Hepatitis B + IPV-1, Rotavirus-1*, PCV-1
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10 weeks
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DTwP/DTaP + Hib + Hepatitis B + IPV-2, Rotavirus-2*, PCV-2
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14 weeks
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DTwP/DTaP + Hib + Hepatitis B + IPV-3, Rotavirus-3*, PCV-3
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6 months
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Typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV), Influenza-1
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7 months
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Influenza-2
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9 months
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MMR-1
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12 months
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Hepatitis-A 1**
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15 months
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MMR-2, Varicella-1
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16–18 months
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DTwP/DTaP + Hib + IPV-4, PCV-4, Varicella-2, Hepatitis-A 2**
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2 years
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Influenza***
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3 years
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Influenza***
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4 years
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Influenza***
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5 years
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MMR-3, DTwP/DTaP + IPV5
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10 years
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Tdap/Td****, HPV-1****
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10½ years
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HPV-2****
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(BCG: bacillus Calmette-Guérin; DTWP: diphtheria, tetanus, whole cell pertussis; DTaP: fIPV: fractional-dose inactivated poliovirus vaccine; Hib: Haemophilus influenzae type b; HPV: human papilloma virus vaccine; JE: Japanese encephalitis; MMR: measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine; OPV: oral polio vaccine; PCV: pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; Td: tetanus, reduced dose diphtheria toxoid; Tdap: tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and a cellular pertussis vaccine)
Notes: • OPV should be given to all children till 5 years of age during every pulse polio immunization day. • JE vaccine (12 and 13 months), cholera (12 and 13 months) and meningococcal (9 and 12 months) are advised in high-risk situations. • For meningococcal, menectra (9-24 months = 2 doses; >2 years = 1 dose and menveo (>2 years = 1 dose) are options *Third dose "Rotavirus" vaccine not necessary for RV-1 **Hepatitis A, live vaccine only 1 dose, while killed vaccine 2 doses ***For annual influenza best time in India is April (premonsoon); but can be given any time of year with most recent available influenza vaccine ****HPV only for females; for 9-14 years only 2 dose, if started ≥15 years need 3 doses *****Td to be repeated every 10 yearly after that. |
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If your child is currently unwell, it’s best to wait until they have fully recovered before receiving any vaccinations. Vaccines are typically not administered during episodes of active illness.