Vaccination schedule for infants and young children

Vaccination for babies and children helps babies to be able to fight many dangerous life-threatening diseases. Your baby needs to be vaccinated according to the annual updated vaccination schedule of the Ministry of Health.

Has your child been fully immunized? Vaccination of infants and young children is very important and helpful to help children have antibodies against pathogens. Not only does a child not get vaccinated endangers himself, but also other children around him. Because children who are not vaccinated are at higher risk of getting sick. When sick, the baby will be the source of the infection to the outside.

Do you know your child's vaccination schedule to know what vaccines your baby needs, at what age and how to get vaccinated? Please refer to the following aFamilyToday Health article for more details!

The importance of vaccination to prevent infectious diseases in the baby

Babies and young children are very susceptible to disease because their immune systems are not yet complete. According to WHO , vaccination is the only and most effective way to help protect your baby from the risk of many different diseases. Vaccines that are injected into the baby's body will help the child's immune system form antibodies that are effective against the invasion of viruses and bacteria. This helps children avoid many dangerous diseases.

Before the birth of the vaccine, many children suffered from diseases such as polio, tuberculosis, pertussis, typhoid, encephalitis ... which seriously affected their health, even died. With the progress of science and technology, vaccines were created to help children avoid life-threatening diseases such as measles, flu, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis….

After vaccination, your child may have side effects such as fever, pain or redness at the injection site, not wanting to eat, fussy ... Don't worry too much, these are normal reactions to your body. New substances enter the body, and these reactions usually do not last long. The fever, redness, and swelling and pain of being vaccinated are much better than the discomfort a child would experience if they got sick from not being vaccinated. And serious reactions after vaccination are quite rare, encountering 1 in 1 million doses of vaccine alone. In fact, many parents often have misunderstandings about their child's vaccination , leading to unfortunate consequences. Therefore, knowing about vaccines and vaccination schedule is the best way to keep and protect your baby's health.

In fact, some parents still do not want their children vaccinated. The most common reason is because they are concerned about the safety of these vaccines. They worry about safe vaccinations and possible unwanted side effects. However, a lot of evidence has been shown to prove that these vaccines are not dangerous. But the false information appearing every day in the media makes many parents dare not let their children vaccinate. The reality is, it's not easy to change the perception of this group of people about vaccines.

Even so, it makes sense if you're a bit worried about getting your baby vaccinated. This is understandable when the doctor is only emphasizing the benefits of the vaccination, not talking about the side effects your child may experience.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health issued Circular 38/2017 / TT-BYT, "Regulating the list of infectious diseases, the scope and subjects of compulsory vaccines and medical bio-products", taking effect from 1/1/2018. The Circular stipulates that children under 5 years old need to be fully vaccinated for the top  10 infectious diseases : hepatitis B virus, tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b bacteria. ; measles, Japanese encephalitis B, Rubella.

Immunization schedule for children in stages

    Child's age   Vaccine used

  Newborn - Hepatitis B (VGB) vaccine for hepatitis B. How to give: 1 shot as soon as possible (in the first 24 hours after birth)
- BCG vaccination Prevent tuberculosis. How to inject: 1 injection as soon as possible.

  2 months - Diphtheria, tetanus , pertussis , polio and haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) (DTaZ / IPV / Hib) nose 1
- pneumococcal infection ( pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PCV ).
- For babies born on or after July 1, 2015: group B meningitis (MenB). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.
- Rotarix vaccine prevents diarrhea caused by Rotavirus. Immunization schedule: oral dose of 2 doses, dose 2 times 1 at least 4 weeks.

  3 months - Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), (DTaP / IPV / Hib) nose 2.
- For babies born on or after May 1, 2015: inflammation meningitis group B (MenB). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.
Meningitis C (meningitis group C). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.
- Rotarix vaccine prevents diarrhea caused by Rotavirus, taking the 2nd dose.

  4 months - Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), (DTaP / IPV / Hib) nose 3.
- For babies born on July 1, 2015 or after: meningitis B (group B meningitis) (MenB). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.
- Pneumococcal pneumococcal infection (pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PCV). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.

  From 12 to 13 months of age - Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) and meningitis C (Hib / Men C). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.
Measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are also known as German measles (MMR). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.
- For babies born on July 1, 2015 or after this date: meningitis B (meningitis group B) (MenB). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.
- Pneumococcal pneumococcal infection (pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PCV). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.

  From 2 to 3 years of age - A child's flu shot is the first, inactivated flu vaccine that is nasal spray.

  3 to 5 years old - Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). How to vaccinate: 1 injection.
- The flu vaccine inactivated influenza in the nasal spray form, the second time.

Vaccines are needed out of the expanded immunization program

In addition to having your child vaccinated fully and on schedule in the national expanded immunization program , you need to be aware of other infectious diseases vaccines to fully vaccinate your baby, Details are:

Pneumococcal vaccine

Vaccination against chickenpox

Japanese encephalitis vaccine B

Vaccine against hepatitis A

HPV vaccine

Typhoid vaccine

Flu vaccine

Vaccine against diarrhea caused by Rota virus.

When should my child not be vaccinated?

If your child has any of the following, talk to your doctor before giving the shot:

Your child is allergic to a vaccine that was previously given.

If the child has serious neurological problems, they should not get vaccines such as pertussis, polio, or tetanus.

Your child has an immune system problem in the body. Children with weakened immune systems from oral medications or certain medical conditions should not get vaccines containing live viruses (for example, chickenpox virus, polio or measles). If given in the body, the vaccine contains a live virus that will immediately cause illness if the child has a weak immune system.

Your child is  allergic to eggs . Children with severe allergies to eggs should not get the flu vaccine, but they can still get other vaccines. The measles and mumps vaccine was developed inside chicken cells, but the protein in the eggs has been separated from the vaccine. Your child does not need to be tested for egg allergies while getting these vaccines.

Your child has experienced soreness, redness or swelling in the area where the pertussis vaccine was given.

Your child has a fever lower than 40.5 ° C after getting the pertussis vaccine.

Your child has a mild illness such as a cold, cough or diarrhea without showing signs of fever.

Your child is recovering from mild illnesses such as a cold, cough or diarrhea.

Your child has recent signs of an infectious disease.

Your child is taking antibiotics.

Your child is young, not old enough.

Your baby is still breastfeeding.

Your child is allergic (except to eggs).

Your family has a history of epilepsy or  sudden infant death  (SIDS).

What if my baby is not immunized?

Some people fear vaccination will make their children sick. In fact, immunization is safe and helpful for children. Scientists are constantly working to make safer vaccines. Before being licensed and circulated, vaccines have to go through a number of rigorous tests to ensure their safety.

If not vaccinated, children will be at risk of a number of diseases that seriously affect their health, even death. The immunized child's immune system is not as strong as the immunized child. The unvaccinated child's body does not recognize the entry of the virus so it cannot fight it, making the child more susceptible to the disease and becoming a source of transmission to those around them.

Consult your doctor if you have any questions for prompt advice and answers. If after vaccination, baby shows unusual signs, take them to the nearest medical facility to be handled promptly.

aFamilyToday Health  does not offer medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.