The EPI Vaccine Schedule: Six Visits That Protect Your Baby

Pakistan's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) shields your child from roughly a dozen serious diseases — tuberculosis, polio, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis B, Hib meningitis, pneumococcal pneumonia, rotavirus diarrhoea, measles, rubella and typhoid. Every routine dose is free at government EPI centres. Here is what actually happens at each visit.

The rhythm of the first two years

Most of the work is done in six visits before your child turns two:

1. At birth — BCG (a tiny injection in the left arm that later leaves a small scar), the first oral polio drops, and the hepatitis B birth dose.
2. At 6 weeks — the big one: Pentavalent (a single 5-in-1 shot for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and Hib), the pneumococcal (PCV) shot, more polio drops, and rotavirus drops by mouth.
3. At 10 weeks — the second round of the same vaccines.
4. At 14 weeks — the third round, plus the first injectable polio vaccine (IPV).
5. At 9 months — the measles-rubella (MR) shot, the typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV), and a second IPV.
6. At 15 months — the second measles-rubella dose.

The exact list is reviewed from time to time, so treat your vaccination card — not this article — as the final word, and let the vaccinator tell you what is due.

Where to go, and what it costs

Routine EPI vaccines are free at government facilities: BHUs, rural health centres, tehsil and district hospitals, and EPI corners in larger hospitals. Lady Health Workers can point you to the nearest centre and its days. Private paediatricians give the same vaccines — sometimes with optional extras such as PCV-13, chickenpox or flu — for a fee.

Keep the record safe

• Ask for the vaccination card at the very first visit and bring it every time.
• Many families are now also registered on Zindagi Mehfooz, the digital immunisation record, which sends SMS reminders for the next due date.
• If you move city or switch to a private clinic, the card lets the new provider carry on exactly where you left off.

A few things that confuse parents

• The polio drops at your door are extra. Campaign teams give supplementary polio drops for added protection; these do not replace the routine schedule, so keep going to your EPI visits too.
• A mild cough, cold or low fever is usually fine on vaccine day — ask the vaccinator rather than postponing for weeks.
• A little fever, fussiness or a sore, swollen injection spot afterwards is normal and settles in a day or two.
• Slightly late is not "too late." A missed dose can be given at the next opportunity without restarting the whole course.

If your baby fell ill on vaccine day or you've lost track of what's due, don't stew over it — your nearest EPI centre or paediatrician can check the card and catch the schedule up safely.