Baby vaccinations: how they work and what to expect
How vaccines protect your baby, why several at once do not overload them, what to do on vaccination day and answers to the most common fears.
4 min read
In this article
A vaccine teaches your baby’s immune system to recognise a germ without going through the illness. It contains the germ killed or weakened, or only part of it, so it does not cause the disease. The body makes antibodies and remembers the germ, so if your baby meets it later, they are protected quickly. Protection lasts years, often for life.
The vaccination schedule
In Albania, the vaccines in the national schedule are given at your health centre and recorded in your baby’s vaccination booklet. The exact schedule is set by the Institute of Public Health, and the vaccination nurse or your paediatrician will tell you when the next one is due. Keep the booklet safe: nursery, kindergarten and school will ask for it.
If a vaccine is delayed, because your baby was ill or you missed the date, there is no need to start again. Go as soon as you can and carry on from where you left off.
On vaccination day
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1
Bring the booklet
And say if your baby has been ill recently or reacted to an earlier vaccine.
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2
Hold them close
Your baby settles better on your lap, held firmly against you, than lying on the table.
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3
Breast or bottle
Feeding during or straight after the injection soothes your baby a lot.
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4
Stay calm
Babies pick up on a parent’s tension. Speak softly, sing, and do not worry if they cry: it does not last long.
After the vaccine
For a day or two, it is common for the injection site to be a little red or swollen, and for your baby to be more irritable, sleep more or have a slight temperature. These are signs the body is building protection. Offer the breast or bottle more often and do not wrap them up too warmly. Give fever medicine only as your paediatrician advises.
See a doctor if the temperature is high or lasts more than two days, if your baby seems very unwell, or if anything worries you. For babies under 3 months, any temperature of 38°C or higher needs a doctor straight away. Read fever in babies.
Serious allergic reactions are very rare and usually happen within the first minutes. That is why you may be asked to wait a little at the health centre before leaving.
Fears you will often hear
“Too many vaccines at once overload the body.” Your baby’s immune system meets thousands of germs every day. The amount in vaccines is tiny by comparison. Several vaccines at once, or combined vaccines, are as safe and effective as one at a time, and spare your baby extra injections.
“Vaccines cause autism.” The 1990s study that claimed this was flawed and was retracted. Large studies since have shown that vaccines do not cause autism. The first signs of autism often appear at the age when vaccines are given, but that is a coincidence of timing, not a cause.
“These diseases do not exist any more.” They became rare precisely because of vaccines. The germs still circulate in the world and cross borders easily. When most children are vaccinated, those who cannot be vaccinated yet, such as very young babies, are protected too.
Common questions
Are vaccines safe for babies?
Is a temperature normal after a vaccine?
What if we missed a vaccine?
Do vaccines cause autism?
Sources we consulted
- WHO: Vaccines and immunization: what is vaccination?
- AAP, HealthyChildren.org: Are vaccines safe for children?
- AAP, HealthyChildren.org: Taking fear and pain out of needles
- Institute of Public Health, Albania: ishp.gov.al
Written by the mam.al editors as general information. It does not replace advice from your paediatrician or vaccination nurse.