A Comprehensive Guide to Vaccination for Children in India (0–10 years)

In the bustling noise of progress, where everything is fast-paced, children, on the other hand, are to be dealt with the utmost care and patience to ensure their holistic well-being.

Right from their first cry to their blossoming adolescence, their every moment deserves endless protection. In the battle of health and well-being, vaccination is like a shield against all the deadly diseases that are always lurking in the air to attack these innocent beings.

Therefore,a vaccination schedule for children is as important as nurturing their dreams and safeguarding their future.

However, the vaccination guide for Indian children varies according to different geographical locations, which are characterized by prevalent endemic diseases and the preparedness of the healthcare sector.

Understanding Vaccination

Vaccination works like a tonic against numerous life-threatening diseases. It is made with a milder or weakened pathogen that causes a particular disease so as to prepare the body against that particular disease.

This killed pathogen, when injected, targets the body’s immune system, thus communicating with the white blood cells to defend it.

This process immediately triggers the production of antibodies and activates the memory of WBC to be cautious of a similar pathogen when it re-enters the body. When the actual pathogen enters the body, the WBC re-activates its memory and shields the body against it, thus preventing the attack of the disease.

The process of vaccination is similar to the pre-boards before the real board exams that prepare us for the actual exam.

A vaccination guide for Indian children is necessary because it protects children against some lethal diseases like polio, measles, meningitis, pneumonia, etc., especially in newborns.

Apart from this, it also helps in providing community-expanse immunity, releases the healthcare system's burden, and safeguards the health of future generations.

History of vaccination in India

Today, immunization through vaccination has been proven to be the most feasible child survival tactic. However, this was not always the case.

It was in the 19th century, following the contamination of smallpox, that the British East India Company initiated the vaccination drive in India.

This led to the successful eradication of the disease during the early 19th century, following which, there were various other vaccination drive campaigns against diseases like polio, measles, whooping cough, and tetanus.

Mission Indradhanush, launched in 2014, also aims to decrease the mortality rate by 90% in numerous underserved areas in India.

Vaccination Schedule for Children in India

A child immunization guide is very essential to keeping track of vaccinations for children in India and protecting them from deadly diseases. 

Also, WHO claims that the vaccine's introduction has resulted in a reduction of almost 60% in child mortality rates globally.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the immunization schedule through a vaccination chart for children from 0 to 10 years:

Vaccine	When to give	Dose	Route	Prevents Diseases
For Infants
BCG	At birth or as early as possible (until 1 year)	0.1 ml (0.05 ml) (0.05 ml until 1 month of age)	Intradermal	Tuberculosis
Hepatitis B	At birth or as early as possible (within 24 hours),	0.5ml	Intramuscular	Acute and chronic liver disease
OPV -0	At birth or as early as possible (within the first 15 days)	2 drops	Oral	Polio
OPV 1,2,3	At 6, 10, and 14	2 drops	Oral	Polio
	weeks
	(until 5 years old)
Pentavalent 1,2,3	At 6, 10, and 14	0.5ml	Intramuscular	Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Hepatitis B, and Hib.
	weeks
	(until 1 year),
Rotavirus	At 6, 10, and 14 weeks	5 drops	Oral	Rotavirus Gastroenteritis
	(until 1 year).
IPV	Two-fractional doses at 6 and 14 weeks.	0.1 ml	Intradermal	Polio
Measles- Rubella(MR)	At 9–12 months (until 5 years),	0.5ml	Subcutaneous	Pneumonia, Encephalitis
Japanese Encephalitis (JE) (only endemic)	At 9 months	0.5 ml	Subcutaneous	Meningitis, encephalitis, and acute flaccid paralysis.
	(until 5 years),
Vitamin A (1st dose)	At 9 months	1ml	Oral	Blindness
	along with the MR vaccine.
For Children
DPT booster-1	16 to 24 months	0.5ml	Intramuscular	Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus
Measles/MR(2nd dose)	16 to 24 months	0.5ml	Subcutaneous	Pneumonia, Encephalitis
OPV Booster	16 to 24 months	2 drops	Oral	Polio
JE-2	16 to 24 months	0.5ml	Subcutaneous	Encephalitis, Meningitis
Vitamin A (2nd to 9th dose)	16 to 18 months (later, one dose every 6 months until 5 years)	2ml	Oral	Blindness
DPT Booster 2	5-6 years	0.5ml	Intramuscular	Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis.
TT	10 years and 16 years	0.5ml	Intramuscular	Tetanus

 

Being the most populated country in the world, complying with this vaccination chart for children in India is crucial so as to prevent a fatal breakout of disease, which could become a huge challenge due to the ever-growing population of the country.

Vaccine schedules ensure that the children receive vaccines at the right vulnerable ages so as to strengthen their immune system, preventing the spread of deadly infections.

It also helps in developing herd immunity, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus protecting the fragile population that cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons or age.

Importance of Adhering to the Vaccination Schedule

Adhering to child immunization schedules in India is critically important for parents to optimally stimulate their kid’s immune system and produce antibodies, thus building early immunity in them against diseases.

It also leads to children’s holistic development, thus encouraging them to actively participate in various activities in their school years, like playing, peer-to-peer social interactions, competitions, etc., leading to their physical, emotional, and mental enhancement.

Vaccination also provides community-wide immunity, thus protecting those who cannot be vaccinated due to their old age or various other reasons.

Lack of vaccination leads to a decrease in herd immunity, leading to the spread of diseases at a faster rate and curbing the potential to stop their transmission.

Regular compliance with the vaccination schedule for children also prevents serious health risks in them, leading to extreme illness, hospitalization, or even death in some cases.

Also, since children’s immune systems are still developing, their bodies are more susceptible to catching diseases compared to adults. This makes it a very important reason for their careful and timely vaccination.

Consequences of Missing or Delaying Vaccines

A recent study by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare revealed that there has been a 12 percent immunization gap between eligible measles vaccinations, which has made the children susceptible to the measles rubella virus.

In 2017, there was a national strategic plan for its elimination, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted its all-around coverage. This interruption has increased the burden on the public healthcare sector, thus also being a good reason for following a child vaccination guide in India.

There are various reasons for the vaccination gap, including religious, socio-economic, and socio-demographic factors paralyzing the thoughts of the downtrodden population.

There could also not be a better example than the COVID-19 pandemic that gives a glimpse of the consequences of missing or delaying vaccination. There were numerous people who were very skeptical of taking the vaccine due to their mistrust of the fast-paced vaccine generation.

This led to the curbing of herd immunity in the initial days, leading to the widespread contamination of the virus.

Children were also expected to stay indoors for almost one complete year, starving them of various social, extracurricular, mental, physical, and emotional activities necessary for their growth and development.

This lack of interaction or complete isolation from their peers led to various depressive cases among the kids, as they are meant to explore and learn at that age.

The children could also face serious educational disruptions during the outbreak of a disease, as they would be required to isolate or even quit school following their illness.

This would create a setback in their growth during their most crucial years of cognitive, social, and interpersonal development.

This lack of personal growth could lead to low self-confidence, impacting their social skills and various other potential achievements that they could accomplish otherwise.

Common Concerns and Myths About Vaccination

The discussion about vaccination is never complete without common concerns haunting people.
From fears to misconceptions about effectiveness and side effects, the uncertainties regarding it always linger, notifying the public health department's ability to maintain extra caution.

Here is a list of a few myths and concerns about vaccination that could debunk your mind of any such false information:

1. Preservatives used: This is one of the major concerns among parents, but it should be noted that the ingredients are the result of calculated calibration by medical experts of their potential health risks and benefits.
2. Natural Immunity: Infants and kids have very weak immunity due to their sudden exposure to the real world and still-developing immune systems. Hence, they do require vaccination for their active immune response to develop.
3. Side effects: The side effects only include pain at the injected point and swelling, followed by a mild fever. These are very minute compared to the deadly disease the vaccination could prevent.
4. An overloaded immune system: Vaccination can lead to responding to various pathogens simultaneously, thus strengthening the immune system. The vaccine contains only a small number of antigens compared to what the children encounter on a daily basis.

Optimism towards vaccination

There are various reasons that could motivate parents to have a positive attitude towards vaccination. Vaccination roll-outs are a result of extensive research, trials, failures, and rectification by top medical experts in the country.

Vaccines undergo three-phase trials before their actual vaccination drive within a region or throughout the country. After its first human deployment, there is also post-marketing surveillance to understand and study its effectiveness against a disease.

Persistent efforts towards the eradication of deadly diseases like smallpox, diphtheria, polio, etc. have proved that vaccination is the only way to prevent the future burden on both the public healthcare sector and parents.

It has to be understood that the vaccination schedule for children is designed after rigorous community research. This identification of potential diseases at the national and international levels is carried out by esteemed organizations like the CDC and WHO, respectively.

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Conclusion

It is believed that immunization is the best self-defense against all diseases. Vaccination is a crucial step to achieve this immunization cover and safeguard the children from the painful consequences of such life-threatening diseases that could impact their livelihood.

By adhering to the child immunization schedule, parents not only shield their kids from harmful pathogens but also carve a clean pathway for their kids to explore, learn, and flourish in the future.

Regular vaccination also provides community-wide immunity, reducing the overall burden of infectious diseases on public health providers. It is therefore essential for parents to stay updated about the vaccines and the latest additions, thus empowering future generations in the process.

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