Baby vaccination chart India: the complete IAP schedule

There are two vaccination schedules running in India at the same time, and almost nobody explains the difference to you. The UIP (Universal Immunization Programme) is the government schedule — free at any government hospital or anganwadi. The IAP (Indian Academy of Pediatrics) schedule is what most private paediatricians follow: it includes everything in the UIP plus several vaccines the government doesn't fund yet.

Neither one is wrong. The IAP schedule is broader. If you're going to a private paediatrician, the chart below is the one they're working from.

The full IAP vaccination chart, birth to 5 years

Ages are counted from date of birth, not from the due date, unless your baby was preterm and your paediatrician says otherwise.

*Rotavirus dose count depends on the brand: the monovalent vaccine is 2 doses, the pentavalent is 3. Hepatitis A likewise — the killed vaccine is 2 doses, the live attenuated one is a single dose. Your paediatrician picks the brand; ask which one your baby got so you know how many doses to expect.

How the free government (UIP) schedule differs

The UIP is delivered free at government facilities and covers the diseases that cause the most deaths in India. It's a genuinely good schedule — it is not a lesser version of care. It simply doesn't yet fund some of the vaccines IAP recommends.

In the UIP but organised differently: the DTP, Hib and hepatitis B doses come bundled as a single pentavalent injection at 6, 10 and 14 weeks, which means fewer pricks. Polio is given as OPV drops plus two fractional IPV doses. PCV is given at 6 weeks, 14 weeks and a 9-month booster rather than the IAP's three-plus-booster.

Recommended by IAP but not currently in the UIP:

• Typhoid conjugate vaccine — meaningful in most Indian cities
• Hepatitis A
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Influenza, annually
• MMR — the UIP gives measles-rubella (MR); the mumps component comes only with MMR

If cost is the constraint, a reasonable conversation to have with your paediatrician is: take everything free at the government centre, and pay privately only for the extras that matter most where you live. Typhoid conjugate and influenza are usually the two worth prioritising in Indian cities.

What it costs privately

Private vaccination costs vary widely by city and clinic, and brand choice moves the number a lot. As a rough planning range in 2026, a full private IAP schedule to age two commonly lands somewhere between ₹35,000 and ₹70,000 including consultation fees — the pneumococcal (PCV) and rotavirus doses are the expensive ones early on.

Three ways parents reduce that without dropping protection:

1. Combination vaccines. A hexavalent shot costs more per vial than separate ones but often works out cheaper overall once you count fewer visits and fewer consultation fees — and it's fewer needles.
2. Split the schedule. Government centre for the UIP doses, private clinic for the extras.
3. Ask about the brand. Paediatricians usually stock more than one option at different price points for the same protection.

What happens if you miss a dose

This is the single most common worry, and the answer is reassuring: you almost never have to start over. Immunological memory doesn't reset because you were late. The standard rule across paediatric practice is that an interrupted schedule is resumed, not restarted — you give the next dose in the series whenever the child turns up.

What actually matters:

• Minimum intervals must be respected. Doses given too close together may not count. Doses given late almost always do.
• Some vaccines have an upper age limit. Rotavirus is the important one — the first dose generally must be given before 15 weeks and the series completed by 8 months. If you miss that window, that ship has sailed, and it isn't a catastrophe.
• Catch-up is a real, defined protocol. Your paediatrician has a catch-up table for children who started late. Bring whatever record you have, even a partial one.

If you've lost the card entirely and can't remember what was given, the safe default is to treat the child as unvaccinated and start a catch-up schedule. Extra doses of most vaccines are not harmful.

Before, during and after the appointment

Before

• Mild cold, cough or a runny nose is not a reason to postpone. Moderate or severe illness with fever is — call and ask.
• Feed the baby before you leave. A hungry baby has a much worse time.
• Take the vaccination card. Take a photo of it too, in case the card gets lost.

During

• Breastfeeding during or immediately after the injection measurably reduces crying. So does skin-to-skin holding.
• Ask which brand was given and write it down — it determines the dose count for rotavirus and hepatitis A.

After

• Wait 15 minutes at the clinic before leaving. Serious reactions are rare, and this is when they'd show.
• Low fever, fussiness, sleepiness and a sore, slightly swollen injection site for a day or two are expected — that's the immune system working, not a problem.
• Paracetamol dosing after vaccination should come from your paediatrician by weight, not from the internet.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information for Indian parents, written from published paediatric guidance (IAP, WHO, AAP). It is not medical advice and cannot account for your baby specifically. Anything that worries you — feeding, breathing, fever, weight, a rash — is a call to your paediatrician, not a search. In an emergency, go to a hospital.