Vaccination Schedule for Babies in UAE 2021

Vaccinations can protect your baby against a host of dangerous illnesses. No surprises then why the UAE government has a vaccination chart for babies. The vaccines make sure that your baby’s likelihood of catching a dangerous illness like mumps, measles, whooping cough, meningococcal diseases, hepatitis, polio, pneumococcal diseases, etc. is significantly less. So, being a parent you must get a newborn vaccination chart to know which the recommended immunizations for your child are.

Why are vaccinations important for your baby?

Kids are rather susceptible to catching diseases and infections when they are very young. This happens mainly because their immune systems are still growing. The body’s defense mechanism to fight against such infection-causing microorganisms is still not developed. Our body’s immune system is meant to protect us against pathogens, but there are certain pathogens that are capable of overwhelming the immune systems. Whenever this happens, your child may become sick. Problems arise when the body cannot identify the pathogens involved. However, if your child has got his routine immunizations following the newborn vaccination schedule UAE, you can protect him. Thus, it is pivotal to keep a vaccination chart for newborn babies handy.

Should you give your baby vaccines?

• Vaccines are safe and effective; they have been prepared after elaborate reviews by doctors, scientists, and government approvals.
• Pediatric organizations typically support the idea of protecting children using vaccinations.
• Vaccines can protect your kids from serious diseases and health complications; without these, they can fall victim to conditions like hearing loss, arm or leg amputations, brain damage, limb paralysis, etc.
• Diseases like whooping cough or measles can be prevented effectively with vaccinations but despite this, they continue to affect millions of babies every year. And while vaccines have reduced the incidence of many infectious diseases, many of these continue to occur in some nations. Often international travelers introduce these to a country and if your child is not vaccinated he may easily get infected through them.
• If parents are reluctant to get their kids vaccinated, it can lead to an outbreak of many deadly diseases that could have been prevented otherwise.
• Unless children are vaccinated they might infect other children and some of them may be too young to get an immunization shot to save them. Even people with compromised immune systems like cancer patients can get infected.

Immunization schedules will not be the same everywhere in the world. This is simply because the risks of some infections will be higher in certain locations than in others. For instance, the risks of tuberculosis are higher in the UAE than in European countries. This explains why, according to the vaccination chart for babies in UAE, TB must be administered only within a few days after birth.

Vaccination Schedule for Babies in UAE:

• At birth: vaccines to be taken after BCG and Hepatitis B
• 2 months: DTaP, Hib, Hep B, IPV, PCV.
• 4 months: DPT, Hib, Hep B, OPV, PCV.
• 6 months: DPT, Hib, Hep B, OPV, PCV.
• 12 months: MMR and varicella.
• 18 months: DTaP, Hib, OPV, PCV.
• 5-6 years: DPT, OPV, MMR, varicella.

Are vaccination costs in the UAE covered?

While there are some health insurance carriers that do provide coverage for vaccines, most providers do not since preventive medicines are typically not included in the coverage. In case your insurance provider is not willing to bear the costs you must make a budget for your kid’s vaccination schedule as vaccines can be quite costly. The prices can differ from one clinic to another but they are steep. To get vaccinations on time, you do not only have to visit private clinics in the UAE. You can always visit government-run clinics to get your child’s vaccine, particularly when your insurance provider is not covering the costs and you cannot afford vaccination costs at private clinics. When you have a residency visa in the UAE, you can open a file in local government-approved clinics and enjoy free vaccinations until your child is 5 years of age.

Things you must do to avail of free immunizations:

• You must go to the local hospital and submit your child’s documents like birth certificate, visa, passport, and Emirates ID. You should also carry your own papers and those of your spouse.
• Carry copies of your utility bills to allow the hospital to assign you to their local clinics.
• Collect the health card
• Contact the local clinic you have been assigned to with all your child’s documents and a new health card. You can make an appointment for opening a file. Once your file is opened, you can schedule an appointment to consult a pediatrician prior to getting vaccinations for your baby.
  The UAE Government ensures that vaccinations are compulsory for children from their birth till grade 11. This is done to prevent diseases like Diphtheria, tetanus, BCG, DPT, hepatitis B, Hexavalent, Hib or Haemophilus Influenza Type B, HPV or Human Papillomavirus, OPV or Oral Poliovirus Vaccine, MMR or measles, mumps, and rubella, PCV or pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Tdap, Tetravalent, etc.

Things that you should remember during immunizations:

• You may have a newborn vaccination schedule UAE that you strictly adhere to, but you may have missed one or two vaccines. When this happens, you must reach out to your pediatrician to find out if the shot can be administered at a later date.
• If your kid is running a fever before his shot, you must inform the doctor prior to his vaccination. Your pediatrician will probably reschedule the vaccination.
• The doctor may at times offer you an option of painless vaccinations. While parents would never be keen to put their children through painful vaccines, it is always better to find out the difference between the painless and painful vaccines so that you take the right decision. Painless vaccines are likely to have a quicker period of waning which means the immunity will disappear faster compared to a painful vaccine.
• When your child gets vaccination shots, fever is quite common for some of these. You may use a sponge bath for reducing body temperature in such situations. However, in case the fever continues to be there, it is advisable to approach the doctor.
• During child vaccinations, it is always better to get someone to accompany you to the doctor’s clinic. This helps to keep the child calm and distracts him after the vaccination has been given. It is also a good idea to carry your kid’s favorite toys or blanket when you take him for a vaccine.