Bangladesh's Child Vaccination Schedule: What Your Baby Needs and When

If you've just had a baby in Bangladesh, congratulations — and welcome to the world of vaccination cards, booster shots, and conflicting advice from relatives.

'Don't give that vaccine, my child had fever after it.' 'In my time we didn't get all these shots and we turned out fine.' You'll hear it all. Smile, nod, and vaccinate your child anyway.

Bangladesh's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) is actually one of the best vaccination programmes in South Asia. It's free, it's effective, and it's the reason diseases like smallpox and polio have been virtually eliminated from our country.

THE EPI SCHEDULE

At Birth:
• BCG vaccine (protects against tuberculosis)
• OPV-0 (oral polio — the drops)
• Hepatitis B birth dose — given within 24 hours

6 Weeks (দেড় মাস):
• Pentavalent-1 (covers diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and Hib)
• OPV-1 (polio)
• PCV-1 (pneumococcal — protects against pneumonia)
• IPV-1 (injectable polio)

10 Weeks (আড়াই মাস):
• Pentavalent-2
• OPV-2
• PCV-2

14 Weeks (সাড়ে তিন মাস):
• Pentavalent-3
• OPV-3
• PCV-3
• IPV-2

9 Months:
• Measles-Rubella (MR) first dose

15 Months:
• Measles-Rubella (MR) second dose

COMMON CONCERNS

'My baby got fever after the vaccine. Is that normal?'
Yes. Mild fever (99-101°F) for 1-2 days is a normal immune response. It means the vaccine is working. Give paracetamol drops if your baby is uncomfortable. Fever above 103°F or lasting more than 3 days? See your doctor — but that's rare.

'Can I give multiple vaccines at once? Won't it overload the immune system?'
No. Babies encounter thousands of antigens daily just from their environment. A few vaccines at once are nothing compared to what their immune system already handles. The schedule is designed to provide protection as early as possible.

'We missed a dose. Do we start over?'
No. Pick up where you left off. There's no need to restart the series. But try not to delay further — the schedule exists because babies are most vulnerable at these specific ages.

BEYOND EPI — OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED
The EPI schedule covers the essentials, but there are additional vaccines worth discussing with your paediatrician:
• Rotavirus vaccine (prevents severe diarrhea — the leading cause of child death in Bangladesh after pneumonia)
• Varicella (chicken pox)
• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid conjugate vaccine
• Influenza (annual)

These aren't free under EPI and cost between ৳500-৳3,000 per dose, but they're worth considering if you can afford them.

WHERE TO GET VACCINATED
EPI vaccines are available free at all government hospitals, upazila health complexes, union sub-centres, and during outreach sessions. In Dhaka, major hospitals like Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, and ICDDR,B also provide vaccination services.

Keep your child's vaccination card safe. You'll need it for school admission. Take a photo of it and save it on your phone as a backup. And if you're reading this and your own adult vaccinations are incomplete — particularly hepatitis B — it's never too late to catch up.