During the first year of your baby, most parents focus on breastfeeding, weaning, introduction to solid foods, making their babies familiar with a variety of food and the like. However, there is something else that is as important as all of these. It is the immunisation schedule that you should follow for your baby during his first year. This immunisation schedule will contain a list of vaccines and medicines that will prevent your babies from serious ailments.
Please don’t forget to give your babies these vaccines on time. It doesn’t matter if your baby was born prematurely. You can still follow this schedule for the overall immunity and development of your baby.
BCG, OPV 0 and Hep-B 1 are the vaccines you need to give your baby at the time of birth.
1. When your baby completes 8 weeks
At 6 weeks, following vaccinations are offered to your baby:
- Polio- Polio immunization(OPV or IPV) is essential for your baby. Give two doses of IPV if started at 8 weeks and keep an interval of 8 weeks between the doses.
2. When your baby completes 10 weeks
At 10 weeks, you have to ensure that you immunise your babies against diseases. These are repeated vaccines that you have to take at various stages of your baby’s growth.
- Rotavirus- It is found that it is more effective to employ the first dose of RV1 vaccine at 10 weeks.
3. At 14 weeks
Please ensure that you take these repeated vaccines at this stage to provide long-term protection to your baby from serious diseases.
- Rotavirus- The second dose should be given at 14 weeks. Only 2 doses of RV1 are recommended.
4. At 6 months
Following timelines while administering vaccines is important. Some vaccines should not be given before your baby is 6 months old.
- Hepatitis-B: HepB vaccine series should not be given before 24 weeks.
5. At 9 months
- Measles: MMR is the vaccine that should be given to the baby when he completes 9 months. The second dose can be given in his second year.
6. At 9-12 months
- Typhoid: Typbar-TCV and PedaTyph are typhoid vaccines which should be given only after 4 weeks of the MMR vaccine. Second dose should be given in his second year.
7. At 12 months
- Hepatitis-A: Two doses for killed Hep-A vaccines are recommended.
Vaccines while traveling
If you are travelling to another country, with your baby within the first year of his birth, you have to discuss with your doctor first about the vaccinations. He will recommend you vaccines according to your destination country and its health condition. Some diseases like typhoid, cholera and Hepatitis A are the ones that you should mandatorily get your baby vaccinated for, before travelling anywhere.
