When should children be vaccinated? Will it have any impact if the baby is vaccinated later?

Vaccination, or preventive shots, is something everyone should receive from childhood. The country provides free vaccinations for newborns, and for the healthy growth of children, they must be vaccinated on time. So when should children generally receive their vaccinations? Is there any impact if the vaccination is delayed?

When should children get their vaccines?

There are two kinds of vaccines in our country. One kind is provided free of charge to citizens by the government. If a child does not receive all the first-category vaccines, he or she cannot go to school. The other kind is a vaccine that citizens receive voluntarily at their own expense. It is a supplement to the first-category vaccines and can prevent diseases not covered by the first-category vaccines. If conditions permit, vaccination is recommended.

Different vaccines have different injection requirements and immunization procedures. When the time comes, there will be a vaccination book, and you can get the injection according to the instructions on it. Generally speaking, the vaccines provided free of charge by the state should be given until the age of 6.

A type of vaccine provided free of charge by the state

Newborns: BCG, Hepatitis B vaccine

1 month old: Hepatitis B vaccine

2 months: Polio vaccine

3 months old: polio vaccine, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccine

4 months: polio vaccine, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccine

5 months: DPT vaccine

6 months old: Hepatitis B vaccine, group A meningococcal vaccine

8 months old: leprosy vaccine, Japanese encephalitis vaccine

9 months: Group A meningococcal vaccine

12 months old: Varicella vaccine (included in the immunization program from August 1, 2018)

18 months: DTP vaccine, MMR vaccine, Hepatitis A vaccine

2 years old: Japanese encephalitis vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine

3 years old: Group A+C meningococcal vaccines

4 years old: polio vaccine, measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, varicella vaccine (included in the immunization program from August 1, 2018)

6 years old: A+C group meningococcal vaccine, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine

Category II vaccines that require self-payment

Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib): 1 dose each at 2, 3, and 4 months of age, and the 4th dose at 12-18 months of age.

13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine: 1 dose each for basic immunization at 2, 4, and 6 months of age, and 1 dose for booster immunization at 12-15 months of age. The first dose of basic immunization can be given as early as 6 weeks of age, and each dose thereafter is given 4-8 weeks apart.

23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine: susceptible people aged 2 years and above.

Rotavirus vaccine: 1 dose per year for children aged 2 months to 3 years.

Influenza vaccine: Children aged 6 months to 3 years old should receive 2 doses per year, with an interval of 1 month; children aged 3 years and above and adults should receive 1 dose per year.

Hand, foot and mouth vaccine (EV71): It can be administered at 6 months of age, with 2 doses in total, 1 month apart.

A+C group combined meningococcal vaccine and ACYW135 group combined meningococcal vaccine: The meningococcal vaccines produced by different manufacturers have different initial vaccination ages and vaccination doses. Vaccination should be based on the manufacturer's vaccine instructions. It can replace Class I vaccines.

Group AC combined with meningococcal-Hib combined vaccine: 3 doses at 2-5 months of age, 2 doses at 6-11 months of age, and 1 dose at 12-71 months of age, with an interval of 1 month.

DPT-Hib combined vaccine (quadruple): 1 dose each at 3, 4, and 5 months of age, and the 4th dose at 18 months of age.

DPT-IPV-Hib combined vaccine (pentavalent): 1 dose each at 2, 3, and 4 months of age, and the 4th dose at 18 months of age.

Is there any harm in delaying the baby's vaccination?

Generally speaking, if the baby is healthy and there are no special reasons, it is not recommended to advance or postpone the vaccination, especially not to do it in advance. If you need to postpone the vaccination for some reason, you must start the vaccination at the time recommended by the doctor or the time marked on the vaccination booklet.

If your baby does not have any illness, allergies, eczema, or other contraindications to vaccination, try not to delay. Firstly, it will affect the effectiveness of delay, and secondly, it will increase the risk of infection before vaccination.

However, if your baby has a fever, cold, allergy, eczema, etc., you need to patiently take care of your baby and wait until he or she is completely recovered before getting vaccinated. If you get vaccinated before you are fully recovered, it will aggravate the fever, cold, allergy, eczema, etc. Once your baby is fully recovered, you should get vaccinated immediately without delaying the vaccination time.

Should babies get vaccines at their own expense?

Although the second-class vaccines are not targeted at serious and easily prevalent diseases, self-paid vaccines do not mean they are unimportant. Whether to get them or not can be decided based on your financial situation and your baby's physique.

Vaccines for infectious diseases that are prone to high incidence, such as rotavirus vaccine, influenza, 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, and Haemophilus influenzae type B conjugate vaccine, are recommended.