World Immunization Week: List Of Important Vaccines For Babies And Kids

Thursday, April 27, 2023, 20:35

World Immunization Week, observed in the last week of April (24 to 30 April), promotes the use of vaccines as a means of protecting people of all ages against disease. World Immunization Week is dedicated to ensuring that more people - and their communities - are protected against vaccine-preventable diseases.

The theme of World Immunization Week 2023 is The Big Catch-Up, an opportunity to raise awareness of the urgent and critical need to locate and immunise children who have missed vaccines, which help to prevent illness, disability, and death.

On the event of World Immunization Week, we have curated a list of important vaccines for babies as per UNICEF India.

Know Your Child's Immunization Schedule

At birth

Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG): This vaccine protects against tuberculosis.
Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV): This vaccine protects against the poliovirus which is a highly infectious disease that invades the nervous system and can lead to total paralysis.
Hepatitis B birth dose: This vaccine protects against Hepatitis B which is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease.

6 weeks

Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) - second dose
Pentavalent - 1: This vaccine protects against Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Hib.
Rotavirus Vaccine (RVV) - 1: This vaccine offers protection against rotaviruses which are the most common cause of severe diarrhoeal disease in infants and young children.
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) - 1: This vaccine offers protection against meningitis, septicemia and pneumonia, as well as milder infections such as sinusitis and otitis media.
Inactivated Polio Vaccine (fIPV) - 1: This vaccine offers protection from the poliovirus which is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age.

10 weeks

Pentavalent - 2
Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) - 2
Rotavirus Vaccine (RVV) - 2

14 weeks

Pentavalent - 3
Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) - 3
Rotavirus Vaccine (RVV) - 3
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) - 2
Inactivated Polio Vaccine (fIPV) - 2

9-12 months

Measles & Rubella (MR) - 1: The vaccine provides protection against measles and rubella. A severe case of measles is often complicated by a middle ear infection or bronchopneumonia. In childhood, rubella causes a mild exanthematous illness as well as a few constitutional symptoms.
Japanese Encephalitis (JE-1): Japanese Encephalitis, a virus that causes encephalitis in Asia, is protected against by this vaccine. In most cases, infections are mild or do not appear to cause any symptoms other than a fever and a headache. Sometimes, however, it can result in a serious clinical condition.
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine - Booster

16-24 months

Measles & Rubella (MR) - 2
Japanese Encephalitis (JE-2) **
Diphtheria Pertussis & Tetanus (DPT) - Booster 1: The vaccine offers protection from diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus.
Oral Polio Vaccine - Booster: The vaccine protects against the poliovirus, which is a highly contagious disease that can lead to complete paralysis. The virus primarily affects children under the age of five.

5-6 years

Diphtheria Pertussis & Tetanus (DPT) - Booster 2

10 years

Tetanus & adult Diphtheria (Td): The vaccine protects against tetanus, which can be contracted through infected wounds or cuts contaminated with the spores of the bacterium Clostridium tetani. There are several complications associated with diphtheria, including difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis, or death. The majority of cases occur within 14 days of infection.

16 years

Tetanus & adult Diphtheria (Td)

On A Final Note...

As children are susceptible to certain diseases at certain ages, vaccines are most effective when administered to them at the appropriate age and with the recommended dosage.

Vaccines help to build immunity and protect the child from the disease. Vaccines are also the most effective way of preventing the spread of diseases in the community.