Vaccination Chart: A Boon For Newborns

How does a vaccination chart help?

A healthy pregnancy is the first step in ensuring the birth of a healthy baby. Along with adequate care and nourishment, it is very important to protect your baby against diseases. For this it is essential to follow and maintain a vaccination chart after birth. Following a vaccination chart based on different age group protects your baby against various diseases that can be easily prevented by vaccination.

Vaccination program

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended a vaccination chart with age and diseases to be followed by countries all over the world.

Universal Immunization Program (UIP) by Government of India and Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has recommended an immunization chart by age for children in India based on the guidelines set by the world health organization (WHO). Various harmful diseases causing serious health problems in the child can be prevented by timely administration of appropriate vaccines.

Vaccination chart for newborn babies in India

According to UIP and IAP, the following vaccines should be administered to the new born baby before being discharged from the hospital. These include BCG (Bacilli Calmette-Guerin), OPV 0 (zero dose of oral polio vaccine) and first dose of Hepatitis B (Hep-B).

All these vaccines are compulsory for each child born in India. These vaccines provide protection against diseases such as tuberculosis, polio and Hepatitis B respectively.

A vaccination chart recorder is helpful in keeping the track of vaccines that are to be further administered after birth.

Vaccination chart with diseases prevented up to 1 year includes:

Age	Vaccine for disease
6 weeks	First dose of combination vaccine DTP for diseases like diphtheria, pertussis or whooping cough and tetanus.
	First dose of injectable polio vaccine (IPV) or first dose of oral polio vaccine (OPV).
	Second dose of hepatitis B vaccine (Hep-B )
	First dose of Hib (Haemophilus influenza type b) against influenza.
	First dose of Rotavirus vaccine against the diseases such as severe diarrhea caused by rotavirus.
	First dose of PCV (pneumococcal conjugated vaccine) against pneumonia in children.

10 weeks	Second doses of DTP, IPV or OPV, Hib, Rotavirus and PCV.

14 weeks	Third doses of DTP, IPV or OPV, Hib, Rotavirus and PCV.

6 months	Dose of OPV and third dose of Hep-B

9 months	Dose of OPV and first dose of MMR. MMR vaccine is for protection against diseases like mumps, measles and rubella (German measles).

	Typhoid Conjugate vaccine (TCV) against typhoid is given 4 weeks after MMR vaccine. Can be given up to 12 months of baby’s age.

1 year	First dose of Hep –A against the virus causing disease hepatitis A

The baby should be administered with oral polio vaccine given in supplementary immunization activity like pulse polio programme in addition to the normal schedule of immunization. It is necessary to follow the vaccination chart of WHO at least till the child is 10 years old.

Vaccination chart till 10 years after 1 year of baby’s age consists of following vaccines :

At 15 months - Second dose of MMR, booster dose of PCV and first dose of Varicella vaccine (against virus causing chickenpox).
Between 16 to 18 months - First booster doses of DTP, IPV and Hib.
At 18 months - Second dose of Hep-A.
At 2 years - Booster dose of typhoid vaccine. TCV vaccination should be continued every 3 years.
At 4 to 6 years - Second booster dose of DTP, second dose of varicella vaccine and third dose of MMR.
Between 10 years to 12 years - Dose of Tdap (tetanus-diphteria-pertussis) or Td (tetanus-diptheria). It should be repeated every 10 years.
Human Papilloma Virus vaccine (HPV) - According to IAP, two doses HPV at interval of 6 months is recommended for pre-teenage girls (9 to 14 years) for protection against cervical cancer.

Vaccination is the most cost-effective method to save your baby from several harmful diseases.

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Disclaimer: The information in the article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor.

Also read: Why You Should Never Miss Your Child's Vaccination?