How Old Should The Kids Be Given Vaccine And The Types Of It

The National Immunisation Programme provides routine childhood immunisations for various infectious diseases. Most are recommended nationwide; others are only recommended for babies in Sabah and Sarawak. The vaccines are provided for free by the government. This chart will help you see when your baby will be offered immunisations, what they are for and how they are given. If you gave birth in a private facility, you will likely be given an immunisation record booklet or card that will include additional vaccines. These are optional and you will have to pay for them. The timing of the vaccinations may also differ slightly from hospital to hospital, and even from doctor to doctor.

Vaccination Schedule by the Ministry of Health Malaysia

AGE	VACCINATION
Newborn	Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) 1st dose: Hepatitis B (HepB)
1 month	2nd dose: Hepatitis B
2 months	1st dose: – Diptheria, Tetanus, accellular Pertussis (DTaP) – Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib) – Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV)
3 months	2nd dose: – DTaP – Hib – IPV
5 months	3rd dose: – DTP – Hib – IPV
6 months	3rd dose: Hepatitis B Measles (Sabah only)
10 months	1st Dose: Japanese Encephalitis (JE) (Sarawak only)
12 months	1st dose: Mumps, Measles, Rubella (MMR) 2nd dose: Japanese Encephalitis (Sarawak only)
18 months	4th dose: – DTP – Hib – IPV 3rd dose: JE (Sarawak only)
4 years old	4th dose: JE (Sarawak only)
7 years old	– BCG (option only if no scar found) – Diptheria, Tetanus (DT booster) – 2nd dose of MMR
13 years old	Human papillomavirus (HPV) with 3 doses within 6 months (2nd dose 1 month after 1st dose, 3rd dose 6 months after 1st dose)
15 years old	Tetanus (TT)

Optional Vaccines in Malaysia

Most paediatricians will recommend additional or optional vaccinations in addition to the ones mandated by the Ministry of Health. You can choose to administer them to your children, based on your doctor’s advice.

> 6 WEEKS : Rotavirus
> 2 MONTHS : Pneumococcal
> 6 MONTHS : Influenza
> 10 MONTHS : Hepatitis A
> 12 MONTHS :Chicken pox

How do vaccines work?

Vaccines work by introducing a weakened or dead form of infection, known as the antigen. In some vaccines, the antibody (the product of the immune system which helps the body fights antigen) is introduced. The introduction of the vaccine allows the body to create antibodies against a particular type of antigen / infection, which means upon actual exposure to the antigen, the body is able to fight the infection quickly and without succumbing to the illness.

You are protected from certain diseases for the first year after birth (thanks to your mother), which then fades away. Before vaccines, children used to die from diseases like whooping cough, polio and measles – all are greatly reduced to almost the point of zero in today’s developed world.

Need help from paediatrics, visit this link with all paediatrics in Malaysia.

Source from: babycenter.com.my, infomed.com.my