All international health organizations, including WHO, say that vaccines are the greatest advance in global health. For over 2 centuries they have reduced the rate of childhood illness and mortality and have given countless young children the chance to live long and productive lives. In India, the success of vaccination programmes has won praise from all over the world. That said, the fact remains that there is still a lack of knowledge about what vaccines should be given to children and when they should be administered. This coupled with the uncertainty that some new parents have about the need for vaccination places countless young children in India at needless risk of illness that could affect the rest of their lives, result in massive medical bills or, in the worst case, be fatal.

Before looking at the immunizations that are needed in the first 3 years of life, it is important to remove some doubts that exist about the importance of immunization. Here are the answers to common questions.

• How do vaccines work? A vaccine works by stimulating the immune response to a specific disease. Because of this, if the body is exposed to the same disease in the future, the immune system knows how to fight it.
• Are vaccines safe? Vaccines are safe. All the immunizations recommended for children in India have been approved by both the Government of India and international agencies.
• Is it safe to undergo multiple immunizations? Yes, it is. Children are exposed to countless germs every day. The strain that this places on the immune system is far greater than the controlled and supervised administering of vaccines that will give strength to the immune system, now and in the future.
• Some diseases are not present in my part of the country. Do I need it to immunize my child against these? Yes, you do. In the future, your child may travel to places where a disease is endemic. Being immunized at a young age is the safest way of giving the body the ability to fight off a disease it may be exposed to later on in life. Additionally, in an increasingly interconnected world, diseases can travel across countries and regions in a matter of days.

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• Will immunization make my baby sick? A vaccine works by provoking an immune response so that the ability to fight a disease remains in the future. That response will often be in the form of a mild temporary fever or soreness or slight discomfort at the injection site that will disappear in a short time. These are signs that the vaccine is doing its job in preparing the body to fight the disease. In the extremely rare case of a stronger reaction, a doctor will be able to treat the symptoms. The risk of a vaccine making a baby sick is minuscule as compared to the risk of serious consequences in the future if a person has not been immunized at a young age.
• It is important to stick to the immunization schedule? Yes, it is. The schedule has been created taking into account the age of the child, the right dosage for the age, the susceptibility to the diseases against which he or she is being immunized and the expected duration of the protection vaccine provides.
• Isn’t it better to let normal childhood diseases run their course? Some diseases like measles are generally mild in nature and not a cause for concern. However, in some cases, complications may develop that could be serious. Immunization reduces the risk and adds to the child’s health-related safety.

These are the immunization recommendations of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India.

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