La Lucia clinic’s guide to baby vaccinations
Nurses at the La Lucia Clinic administer a total of 16 vaccinations that are given at specific stages during the baby's growth.
AS World Immunization Week is commemorated from 24 to 30 April, parents with young babies are urged to take note of the vaccination schedule, like mother, Nelisiwe Mngoma-Zulu who visited the La Lucia Clinic last week with her child, Owethu Mngoma-Zulu.
Nurses at the La Lucia Clinic administer a total of 16 vaccinations that are given at specific stages during the baby’s growth. At birth babies are administered two vaccines: The Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine is injected into the right arm and the oral polio vaccine (OPV) is given in the form of drops placed in the baby’s mouth.
Six weeks later, babies return for their OPV 1 vaccine, a second dose of the polio vaccine as well as their first Rotavirus vaccine (RV), first Diphtheria, Tetanus, acellular Pertussis, Inactivated Polio Vaccine, Haemophilus influenzae (DTaP-IPV-Hib-HPV) vaccine and their first Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV 1).
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The DTaP-IPV-Hib-HPV vaccine is administered three more times at 10 weeks, 14 weeks and 18 months and the PVC vaccine is administered twice more at 14 weeks and again at nine months.
RV is administered once more at 14 weeks. At six months old, babies can have their first measles vaccination followed by a second and final vaccination at 12 months old. Vitamin A oral drops are also recommended to improve eye sight and the immune system and these are administered every six months from the time a baby is 6 months old until five years old.
Children of six years old can also have a Tetanus and diphtheria vaccine (TD) and this can be administered again at the age of 12.
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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) World Immunization Week is celebrated annually in the last week of April to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. They add on their website that immunization saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognised as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions. Yet, there are still nearly 20 million unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children in the world today.
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