Vaccination Schedule
Vaccines are given on a schedule because the immune system responds best at particular ages and needs boosting at intervals. This sets out the schedule used in India and the adult vaccines most often forgotten.
Reviewed by Dr. Mohan Gayenlast reviewed
Your child’s own vaccination card, and your paediatrician, are the authority on what is due. Bring the card to every visit. A missed dose almost never means starting again — catch-up schedules exist, so ask rather than assume it is too late.
Numbers are listed for 55 countries and can change — if your country is not here, or you are not sure, 112 reaches emergency services across the European Union and works from a mobile in much of the world. Do not drive yourself.
Childhood schedule — Universal Immunization Programme
| Age | Vaccines |
|---|---|
| At birth | BCG · Hepatitis B (birth dose) · OPV-0 |
| 6 weeks | Pentavalent-1 (DPT, hepatitis B, Hib) · OPV-1 · Rotavirus-1 · fIPV-1 · PCV-1 |
| 10 weeks | Pentavalent-2 · OPV-2 · Rotavirus-2 |
| 14 weeks | Pentavalent-3 · OPV-3 · Rotavirus-3 · fIPV-2 · PCV-2 |
| 9 – 12 months | Measles–Rubella-1 · JE-1 (in endemic districts) · PCV booster · Vitamin A (1st dose) |
| 16 – 24 months | Measles–Rubella-2 · JE-2 (endemic districts) · DPT booster-1 · OPV booster |
| 5 – 6 years | DPT booster-2 |
| 10 years | Td |
| 16 years | Td |
Vaccines adults forget
| Vaccine | Who | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Td / Tdap (tetanus) | All adults | Every 10 years, and after a dirty or deep wound if the last dose was over 5 years ago |
| Influenza | Older adults, pregnancy, chronic heart, lung, liver or kidney disease, diabetes, low immunity, health workers | Every year |
| Pneumococcal | Adults 65 and over; younger adults with chronic disease, diabetes or no spleen | As advised — usually one or two doses |
| Hepatitis B | Health workers, dialysis patients, household contacts, anyone unvaccinated at risk | Three doses |
| HPV | Adolescents and young adults, most effective before first exposure | Two or three doses depending on age at start |
| Rabies | After any animal bite, scratch or lick on broken skin | Post-exposure course — see below |
| Typhoid | Endemic areas and travellers | Every 3 years for the conjugate vaccine |
After an animal bite — this is urgent
Rabies is essentially always fatal once symptoms appear, and essentially always preventable if treated promptly. There is no safe level of delay and no bite too small to matter.
- 1Wash the wound immediatelyUnder running water with soap for at least 15 minutes. This alone substantially reduces the risk, and doing it properly matters as much as the vaccine.
- 2Go to a doctor the same dayPost-exposure vaccination is started at once. Depending on the wound, rabies immunoglobulin may also be given around it.
- 3Do not apply chilli, oil, turmeric or a dressing that seals itThese do not help and they delay proper cleaning.
- 4It applies to dogs, cats, monkeys and batsA lick on broken skin or a scratch counts, not only a bite. If in any doubt, be assessed.
In pregnancy
- Td or Tdap is recommended in every pregnancy to protect the newborn from tetanus and whooping cough.
- Influenza vaccine is recommended in pregnancy and is safe in any trimester.
- Live vaccines — MMR, varicella — are avoided in pregnancy and given before or after instead.
- Your obstetrician decides what applies to you.
This is general health information for education, not medical advice, and not a diagnosis. It cannot see you, your history, your allergies or your medicines. Never use it to start, stop or change a treatment, and never let it delay you seeking care. If you are worried about symptoms, speak to a qualified doctor; if they are severe or sudden, seek emergency help.
Where this comes from: Based on the Government of India Universal Immunization Programme schedule. Indian Academy of Paediatrics recommendations include additional optional vaccines; your paediatrician’s advice and your own vaccination card take precedence over any general schedule.
Where this is written from: This site is written from Indian clinical practice. Drug availability and brand names, vaccination schedules, national health programmes and some reference cut-offs differ between countries — a schedule or a threshold that is standard here may not be standard where you are. If you are reading outside India, check anything on this page against your own country’s guidance before you act on it.
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What is due, and when — for children and adults.