Vaccines are essential for your child’s health, offering protection against serious diseases.

All of us strong and healthy adults once started off as small babies with weaker immune systems. One way for us to live healthy lives and build immunity to illness is to be vaccinated as a child. Vaccines help build immunity by exposing the body to small amounts of pathogens, allowing the immune system to recognize and fight them later. Here are the key vaccines your child should receive in their first year of life:

  1. Hepatitis B (HepB):
    Symptoms: Fever, fatigue, jaundice, and liver damage.
    Schedule: First dose at birth, second at 1-2 months, third at 18-24 weeks.
  2. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV):
    Symptoms: Pneumonia, breathing difficulties, and blue skin.
    Schedule: Given within a week of birth if born during RSV season.
  3. Rotavirus (RV):
    Symptoms: Severe diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration.
    Schedule: 2, 4, and 6 months (oral drops).
  4. Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP):
    Symptoms: Breathing difficulty, muscle stiffening, and violent coughing.
    Schedule: 3 doses at 2, 4, and 6 months, with boosters at 15-18 months and 4-6 years.
  5. Haemophilus Influenza Type B (Hib):
    Symptoms: Ear infections and severe blood infections.
    Schedule: 3-4 doses at 2, 4, 6 months, and 12-15 months.
  6. Pneumococcal Disease (PCV13):
    Symptoms: Sinus, ear infections, pneumonia, and meningitis.
    Schedule: 4 doses at 2, 4, 6 months, and 12-15 months.
  7. Polio (IPV):
    Symptoms: Mild flu-like symptoms; severe cases can cause paralysis.
    Schedule: 4 doses at 2, 4, 6-18 months, and 4-6 years.
  8. Covid-19:
    Symptoms: Cold/flu-like symptoms, pneumonia, and long-term complications.
    Schedule: One dose at 6 months, repeat as new vaccines are released.
  9. Influenza/Flu:
    Symptoms: Sinus/ear infections, pneumonia, and complications for existing conditions.
    Schedule: 1-2 doses between 6-12 months, annually thereafter.
  10. Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR):
    Symptoms: Fever, rash, pneumonia, and severe complications.
    Schedule: First dose at 12 months, second at 4-6 years.
  11. Hepatitis A (HepA):
    Symptoms: Liver infection, complications may include liver failure.
    Schedule: First dose at 12 months, second at 18 months.
  12. Varicella (Chickenpox):
    Symptoms: Fever, rash, and severe complications like pneumonia.
    Schedule: First dose at 12-15 months, second at 4-6 years.

Vaccines are essential for your child’s health, offering protection against serious diseases. For specific information about vaccines and what your child needs, please contact your pediatrician.