Annual vaccinations are nothing new, although there are some novelties every year. The same is true for the 2016 vaccination calendar, where some changes can be noted. As in the previous year, however, vaccination of all infants against pneumococci and vaccination with preparations with acellular pertussis component were not included. What other significant changes and information have appeared in the new Protective Vaccination Program?
The role of the vaccine is to induce artificial active immunity, which affects the body similarly to that acquired naturally, i.e. obtained after infection. Thanks to this, we will not expose the child to fighting a disease for which the body is not prepared. We present when and what vaccination you can decide if you want to prevent infectious diseases in your child.
Calendar for children up to 1 year old. Which vaccinations are mandatory and free?
The first Infants should be vaccinated in the first day of life. Its purpose is to immunize the body against tuberculosis and hepatitis B. Next vaccination takes place in the second month of life: the child receives the second dose against hepatitis B, and their first vaccines against pertussis (DTP), diphtheria, tetanus and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).
The Hib and whooping cough vaccinations are repeated, so the child receives a second dose as early as 3 or 4 months of age. Along with the second doses of these vaccinations, the infant is also protected against poliomyelitis, i.e. acute paralysis.
After six to eight weeks have elapsed, you should visit your pediatrician again. It is then delivered three a dose of protective vaccination against tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, against Hib, and a second dose giving immunity against polio. The third dose of the hepatitis B vaccine is given when your baby is seven months old.
The next years of a child’s life, i.e. less and less vaccines
When one year passes, the number of vaccinations is not as large and intensive as it was before the age of one. In 2016, there were only four doses of vaccination for two-year-olds in total.
Children are vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) at 13 or 14 months of age. Then, subsequent DTP vaccinations are repeated, against poliomyelitis and Hib – in the period from 16 to 18 months. From now on, until the child is sent to kindergarten, parents are exempt from compulsory vaccinations.
It is not until the sixth year of the child’s life that the next vaccination takes place, this time against: polio, whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. The next is when the child is 10 years old and is a booster vaccination for mumps, measles and rubella. At the age of 14, a second dose of booster vaccination against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus is given. At the age of 18, or during the last year of schooling, a third dose of the same vaccination is given.
To sum up, the category of compulsory and at the same time free vaccinations includes those against:
- tuberculosis,
- diphtheria,
- pertussis,
- measles
- mumps
- polio,
- tetanus,
- rubella,
- Hib,
- Hepatitis B.
Stinging is optional but recommended
In addition to the compulsory vaccinations listed above, which are free of charge, the Vaccination Program also includes those that are recommended but will not be financed by the state. Each dose of such vaccination must therefore be paid from your own funds:
- Against rotavirus – between 6 and 24 weeks of a child’s life, approx. PLN 280 per dose.
- Against pneumococci – in the first year of life, approx. PLN 250 per dose.
- Against influenza – up to the age of 6 months, from PLN 40 to PLN 50.
- Against hepatitis A – during the school or pre-school period, from PLN 115 to PLN 180.
- Against tick-borne encephalitis – if we live near a forest or will be staying in areas where ticks occur, from PLN 80 to PLN 100.
- Against diseases occurring abroad – that is, if we are going to exotic places where there is an epidemiological risk, such as Africa, where yellow fever (usually PLN 205) or typhoid fever (approx. PLN 225) may occur.
You can reduce the number of injections
If we want to avoid visiting the doctor’s office several times and often stinging the child, we can opt for a 5-in-1 or 6-in-1 vaccine (about PLN 180 per dose). Unfortunately, their disadvantage is the fact that they are paid extra. We do not have to worry about the toddler’s health in this case – doctors emphasize that the simultaneous administration of several vaccines can increase their effectiveness by 9 to 17%. The number of adverse reactions is the same as in the case of one vaccine, so it all depends on the individual reactions of the body. Giving several vaccinations at once does not hurt, and may even help.
This rule applies primarily to the concomitant administration of hepatitis B, Hib, DTP, MMR and poliomyelitis vaccines. This type of 5-in-1 vaccine (about PLN 130 per dose) is called “combined” and they contain microorganisms or antigens that immunize against several diseases at the same time. You can also vaccinate against measles, mumps and rubella, as well as diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.