Immunization and Vaccine recommendations in various countries

What is Immunization?

Getting Immunization done to your children is an important duty to protect your newborn and also future generations from many diseases. This is not just important for your family, but also to the community as it can completely wipe out many infectious diseases from the world.

How is Immunization done?

Immunization is a process to improve (boosting)  one’s immunity (defence system of our body) by external means called vaccines. Vaccines make your body prepared to combat diseases and make you Immune.

What are Vaccines?

Vaccines are weakened forms of disease-causing microbes, which will trigger the immune response in a body without actually causing the disease. So the body remembers the immune response in a case attached by the actual disease-causing microbe.

Premature and Preterm Infants: 

Premature or preterm babies are those babies who couldn’t stay in mother’s womb for a full term of around 40 weeks. The major immunity building of the baby takes place in the last/ third trimester. So a preterm baby has a different level of immunity which should be carefully considered. Please contact your medical professional before giving the vaccination schedule. Also kindly mention the fact of the preterm baby to your doctor during counselling and vaccination. Combination vaccines are safe and effective for preterm infants and should be used as indicated, with the exception of combination Hepatitis B vaccines, which should be delayed until at least age 6 weeks and weight greater than 2 kg

Vaccination Schedules

There are many immunization schedules recommended by various capable bodies- suitable for various countries. Please use the below links to get to the schedules in each country and respective applications

WHO Recommended Schedules:

• Recommended routine immunizations for all age groups - PDF
• Routine immunizations for children, including age at first dose and intervals - PDF
• Recommendations for interrupted and delayed vaccination - PDF
• WHO’s recommendations for the vaccination of healthcare workers - PDF

For more information please refer to WHO official site

United States:

• Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule - for ages under 18, released in 2019.[1]
• Adult Immunization Schedule - for ages above 19, released in 2019.[1]

For more information please visit Centres for Disease Control and Prevention 

European Union:

• Child Immunization Schedule - for children in different countries in the EU.
• Adult Immunization Schedule - for adults in the EU.

India:

• National Immunization Schedule