Why the schedule starts so early

Newborns arrive with some protection passed on from their mother, but it fades over the first months of life. The schedule is timed to build a child’s own immunity before that borrowed protection runs out, and before they are most exposed to serious infections. Starting at birth and continuing through infancy is not rushing things. It is closing a gap at the moment it opens.

Most routine vaccines are given in several doses spaced weeks or months apart. Each dose builds on the last, which is why one injection on its own gives only partial protection and the full series matters.

What the routine schedule covers

The routine schedule in Ethiopia typically protects against tuberculosis, polio, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, measles and rubella, with most doses given in the first eighteen months. Your pediatrician will give you the exact dates for your child.

Keep the vaccination card safe and bring it to every visit. It is the simplest record of what your child has had and what is due, and schools, travel and future doctors will all ask to see it.

If a dose is missed

Life happens. A fever on the day, a trip, a lost card. A missed dose is not a reason to start over, and it is never too late to catch up. Bring your child in, and the pediatrician will work out which doses are due and the safest spacing to get back on track. Delaying further is the only real mistake, because it leaves your child unprotected for longer than necessary.

Making the visit easier

Feed or cuddle your baby straight after the injection, expect a little fussiness or a mild fever for a day, and call us if anything worries you. Habari’s Pediatrics department runs the full schedule and will remind you when the next dose is due.