Immunisation is an important way to protect your child from certain life-threatening diseases. All the diseases that your child is protected against are serious diseases and by immunising your child, you are also ensuring better protection for the population. 

How Do Vaccines Help? 

The idea behind vaccination is to give us immunity to a disease before it has a chance to make us sick. 
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​Vaccines are made from the same virus or bacterium (or parts of them) that cause disease. But in vaccines, they are altered so that they cannot cause illness. These vaccines containing the weakened or killed germs are introduced into our body, usually by injection. Our immune system reacts to the vaccine in the same way as to the disease, by making antibodies. Then they stay in our body, giving us immunity and hence afford protection against those diseases. 

This “immunologic memory” lasts longer for some vaccines than for others and sometimes re-vaccination is required to maintain protection. Immunisations therefore help the child's immune system do its work. The child develops protection against future infections, the same as if he or she had been exposed to the natural disease. The good news is, with vaccines your child does not have to get sick first to get that protection. 

Immunisation for Diphtheria and Measles are COMPULSORY by law.

The National Immunisation Registry (NIR) maintains the immunisation records for all Singapore Residents aged 18 years and below. Parents can view their child's immunisation records at the NIR website. NIR uses SingPass for authentication.

The National Childhood Immunisation Programme has been implemented based on recommendations of the Expert Committee on Immunisation, comprising of senior officials from Ministry of Health, consultant paediatricians and experts in communicable disease control.

There are optional vaccines which are not part of the National Immunisation Schedule. Enquiries about these optional vaccines can be made through your family doctor, polyclinic or specialist.

Side effects

The needle does cause brief pain, so it is normal for your baby to cry a little. Often this is just for a few seconds after the injection. Soreness, a slight redness and even a small lump are common, but this usually resolves on its own.

It is also normal for a child to be a little more irritable for a few hours or even a day or so after the injection and there may also be a slight fever (<38°C) that tends to last usually 1–2 days. Your doctor may prescribe a small dose of paracetamol for pain or fever.

When to delay immunization

• When your baby is born prematurely and weighs less than 2 kg. 
• When the child is unwell, for example, a high fever, then delay the immunization till the child is better. 
• If the child is being assessed for a neurological problem, is being treated for cancer​ or has any disease that weakens the immune system, discuss this with your child's doctor. 
• Speak with your doctor if your child has had a serious reaction to any previous injection or has an allergy to eggs or anything else. 
  
  

Reference: HealthHub