Pregnant Women

Vaccinating against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis between 26 and 34 weeks of your pregnancy can help protect you and your baby until his or her routine vaccinations start^3,4. Speak to your health care practitioner about which vaccines to take during your pregnancy for protection against the flu³.

At birth

At birth, vaccinations are available to protect your child against TB and polio. If you had tested positive for hepatitis B virus infection during pregnancy, you baby will also receive the vaccine against hepatitis B³.

At 6 weeks

Your 6-week-old infant is eligible to receive routine vaccinations for hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal and rotavirus³.

At 10 weeks

At 10 weeks, your baby can receive their routine vaccinations for hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b³.

At 14 weeks

Similarly, at the 14-week mark, your baby can receive their routine vaccinations for hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal disease and rotavirus³.

At 6 months

At the 6-month mark, your baby is due to receive their measles and rubella vaccination³.

At 9 months

At 9 months, your baby is due for a follow-up to receive a third pneumococcal vaccination³.

At 12 months (1 year)

When your baby hits the 12-month milestone, they are due for their follow-up measles and rubella vaccination³.

At 18 months

At 18 months, your toddler is due for a round of routine vaccinations for hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b³.

At 6 years

Fast forward to age 6, and your school-going child can child can be vaccinated to help protect against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis³.

At 9 years

From age 9, young girls are eligible for the vaccination against the Human papillomavirus virus³.

Grade 5

Both girls and boys in grade 5 may be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, as part of the school-based campaign programme³.

At 12 years

To wrap up the childhood vaccinations, by age 12, your tween can receive their follow-up vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis³.

So, what exactly are vaccines and how do they work?

Two key things set vaccines apart from other medicines.

1The first differentiator is the way they are designed – they are created to prevent disease, as opposed to treating it or the symptoms⁵. This is done by ‘priming’ a person’s immune system to recognise specific disease-causing bacteria, or viruses⁵. The body has natural ways to prevent the entry of pathogens and harmful bacteria – e.g., the skin, mucus and cilia (microscopic hairs that filter debris in your airways and lungs). However, since germs are all around us, we are constantly at risk and susceptible to contracting diseases – some of which may lead to death⁶.

Our immune system helps our bodies process pathogens and create antibodies to help fight off disease and illness by ‘remembering’ the pathogens, in order to help defend the body against contracting the disease and illness again in future⁶.

Vaccines contain weakened or inactivated parts of a particular organism (antigen), which triggers an immune response in your body. Some newer vaccines come prepared with a sort of ‘blueprint’ for producing antigens – aiding the immune system to prepare for defence against disease⁶. Vaccines allow the immune system to develop "memory cells", which equip the body with the ability to rapidly fight a disease-causing organism when next it is exposed to it⁶.

2The second way vaccines are set apart is that they are commonly biological products, rather than chemical medicines^5,7. This means that they are derived from living cells of bacteria, yeast, plants or animals⁷.

Why are vaccines important?

Given the nature and purpose of vaccines being created as a means of prevention^1,2, they also help manage and contain the spread of diseases – saving around 3.5 – 5 million lives each year⁸.

Routine childhood vaccinations help us develop early immunisation against certain serious infectious diseases. This has led to some of these diseases becoming less common, and even eliminated, in areas with high vaccination levels¹.

Read more how to prevent and protect with Sanofi: