The joy of parenthood is beyond the power of lingual expression. But the same emotion comes with a bucket of anxiousness as well – the worry, the desperate need to keeping your baby safe. A newborn baby acquires immunity from mother for a week to adjust with the outside environmental conditions. After a week, the baby starts developing his own immunity power. This immunity power helps him to fight against the harmful foreign bodies entering into the body. However, the baby’s immune system is not fully developed. So, there are more chances of getting affected by deadly diseases and vaccination is the only way to boost the immune system of your baby which helps in preventing certain deadly diseases.

What Is A Vaccine?

A vaccine is a biological preparation which helps in acquiring immunity against particular diseases. A vaccine contains an antigen exactly resembling the disease-causing microbe which fights against the germs. A vaccine has ‘memory cells’ to remember the microorganisms so that immune system can recognize them and destroy them easily if they later encounter. The agent stimulates the immune system of the body and destroys them.

What Is Vaccination?

The body fights against infections using the immune system, which is made up of millions of white blood cells. By administering this antigenic material (vaccines) to a child’s bloodstream, their immune system can be triggered so that they develop immunity to defend against disease-causing germs. This process of boosting a child’s immunity is called vaccination.

What Is The Need For Vaccination?

Vaccination prevents your child from getting affected by certain diseases. Vaccination has eradicated deadly diseases in India and around the world which includes polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), rubella (German measles), mumps, tetanus, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), etc.

Even then, there are slight chances of those diseases affecting your children. This is because the immune system will not develop fully in newborn children and young children. So, their body’s immune system can’t recognize the harmful pathogens, like bacteria and viruses, which easily enter into the body. They are prone to infectious diseases caused by bacteria and virus.

As we discussed above, vaccines can boost the disease-fighting mechanism (immune system) of the body.  On-time vaccination can reduce and prevent from affecting certain deadly diseases.

Vaccination Time For Your Child

The following vaccines are needed to be given from the time of birth to a certain age to keep your child safe.

BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guérin) Vaccine

This vaccine is primarily given against tuberculosis. TB is a chronic disease which affects the lungs of your child and causes a severe cough and breathing problems.

Hep B1 (Hepatitis B) Vaccine

The 1st dose of this vaccine is recommended for all newborns to prevent the risk of getting hepatitis B disease.

Hepatitis B is caused by the Hepatitis B virus. The infection can be chronic and causes liver problems.

There were two more doses of this vaccine and will be given later.

OPV 0 (Oral Polio vaccines)

These vaccines are given to prevent poliomyelitis at time of birth. An oral dose of this vaccine is given first to a newborn baby.

Poliovirus can sometimes be fatal and causes paralysis. The only way to prevent polio is by giving polio vaccine in advance.

There were two more doses of this vaccine and will be given later.

IPV Vaccine (Injectable Polio vaccines) 

This vaccine is mainly given to prevent polio. The first dose(IPV 1) of this polio vaccine is given on the 6th week.

Poliovirus can sometimes be fatal and can cause paralysis to any part of the body. Prior polio vaccination can prevent your child effecting from polio.

There were two more doses of this vaccine(IPV 2 & IPV 3) and will be given later.

DTP Vaccine (also DPT and DTwP)

It is a combination of vaccines given to prevent the three infectious diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough).

First dose (DTP 1) of this vaccine is given on 6th week. There were two more doses of this vaccine(DTP 2 and DTP 3) and will be given later.

HIB Vaccine (Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine)

This vaccine prevents affecting from Haemophilus influenzae type b infection. First dose (HIB 1) of this vaccine is given on 6th week.

Hib is a bacteria and can cause severe pneumonia, meningitis and other invasive diseases in children aged less than 5 years.

There were two more doses of this vaccine(HIB 2 & HIB 3) and will be given later. The final booster shot of Hepatitis B vaccine is given in between 12 – 18 months of age.

PCV Vaccine (Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine)

It is a combination of pneumococcal vaccine and a conjugate vaccine given to protect infants, young children, from the disease caused by the bacteria.

The disease can result in ear infection, a blood infection, pneumonia, or bacterial meningitis.

There were two more doses of this vaccine(PCV 2 & PCV 3) and will be given later. The final booster shot of this vaccine is given around 12 – 18 months of age.

RV Vaccine (Rotavirus vaccine)

It is a vaccine given to protect from rotavirus infections, which are the leading causes of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children.

First dose (RV 1) of this vaccine is given on 6th week. There were two more doses of this vaccine(RV 2 & RV 3) and will be given later.

IPV B1 Vaccine( DTaP-IPV-Hib vaccine) 

It is a combination of vaccines and protects your child from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and Haemophilus influenzae type b, which are fatal diseases.

This vaccine is given around 12 – 18 months of age.

MMR vaccine 

This vaccine is given to prevent diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles).

These diseases result in red rashes, high fever and swollen lymph nodes etc which are life-threatening. The first dose(MMR 1) is generally given to children around 9 to 15 months of age.

Varicella vaccine

It is also known as chickenpox vaccine, this vaccine protects from chickenpox.

This disease is caused by the zoster virus and causes skin rashes, itchy blisters etc. The first dose(VAR 1) is generally given to children around 15 to 18 months of age.

HEP A Vaccine (Hepatitis A vaccine)

It is given to prevent infection caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). Hepatitis A is caused by the Hepatitis A virus. The infection can be chronic and causes liver problems.

There were two more doses of this vaccine (HEP A1 & HEP A2) and will be given later.

The remaining doses of Polio vaccine third dose OPV 3, the second dose(DTP B2) of DTP, the second dose (MMR 2) of MMR, and second dose(VAR 2) of VAR are given around 4-6 years of age.

After vaccination you may find some common effects like swollen lymph nodes, red rashes at the site of injection, fever, stomach upset, vomiting etc. you need not worry about those common symptoms. Even then, if your concern over those effects you can meet up our doctor.

Some other doses of the vaccines which are very important to be vaccinated to children are as follows

Influenza vaccines

These vaccines protect against infections caused by influenza viruses. These vaccines are seasonal vaccines and given every year from the 6th month up to 18 years of age.

The meningococcal vaccine

It used to prevent infection by Neisseria meningitidis. Meningococcal disease is very serious and can be fatal, where death can occur within a few hours.

The only way to prevent Meningococcal is by giving polio vaccine in childhood itself. It can be given to a child in between 2-18 years of age.

Cholera vaccines 

These vaccines are effective at preventing cholera. Two doses of this vaccine are given to children in between the age of 12 months to 18 years of age.

Typhoid vaccines

These are vaccines given to prevent typhoid fever. Usually, they are given around the age of 2-3 years.

So, don’t neglect, get vaccinated your children time to time and give them a healthy life.

Follow timely chart and catch up our doctors for timely vaccination

We, at SAI SIVA Children’s Hospital, encourage parents to the timelines of the scheduled vaccination for their child. For your child’s vaccination, talk to our children’s specialist and get proper advise. So, call now to book an appointment with us, don’t miss out vaccinating your baby.

About the Hospital

Sai Siva Children’s Hospital, Chanda Nagar, is a full-fledged medical facility specially designed for pediatric patients as well as young adults. The hospital was started in the year 2008, with the aim of reaching out to schools and villages to educate the middle and high school students about health & hygiene. Sai Siva Children’s Hospital is one of the most sought-after children’s hospitals in Hyderabad with a team of experienced doctors and skilled staff who aim to help your child have healthy growth and development. We believe that children today are the future of our world, and must have good health to make the world a better place to live in.