Vaccination Schedule

What Is the Childhood Vaccination Schedule?

The childhood vaccination (immunization) schedule is the recommended timetable for protecting babies and young children against serious infectious diseases. Each country's public-health authority sets its own schedule based on local disease patterns and the vaccines it uses. This tool covers four official schedules: CDC (United States), NHS (United Kingdom), PHAC (Canada) and NIP (Australia).

Most vaccines are given as a recommended age range, not a single day. For example, the third hepatitis B dose is due anywhere from 6 to 18 months. Because of that, this tool marks a dose as “Due” across its whole recommended window and only flags it as overdue once that window has fully passed (plus a short catch-up grace) — so an on-time baby is never labelled late.

How Do I Use This Vaccination Schedule Calculator?

1. Enter your child's birth date so the tool can work out their current age.
2. Select your country to load the matching official schedule.
3. Review the schedule grouped by vaccine, with each dose's recommended age and status (Upcoming, Due Now, or Overdue).
4. Sign in to track — members can save up to 5 children, mark doses as completed and keep a private record.

Worked Example

Suppose your baby is 9 months old and has had every shot except the third hepatitis B dose, which is recommended at 6–18 months:

• Because 9 months sits inside the 6–18 month window, that dose shows as Due Now — not overdue. Your baby is still perfectly on schedule.
• The same baby's 12-month shots (MMR, varicella, Hib and PCV boosters) show as Upcoming.
• A dose only becomes Overdue after its latest recommended age has passed — that is the cue to ask your pediatrician about catch-up vaccination.

CDC Vaccine Schedule: Birth to 6 Years (United States)

A simplified view of the U.S. CDC schedule for the primary childhood series. Many shots are combined (for example DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB), so your child receives fewer injections than the number of rows below.

These are the recommended ages. If a dose is missed, children can usually catch up — your pediatrician follows a separate catch-up schedule to get back on track safely.

What About Flu, COVID-19 and RSV?

Beyond the primary series above, the CDC also recommends an annual influenza (flu) vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, and a COVID-19 vaccine per current guidance. For RSV, infants are protected either by a maternal RSV vaccine in pregnancy or by an RSV monoclonal antibody (nirsevimab) given to the baby. These are seasonal or recommendation-dependent rather than fixed-age doses, so they are not shown in the dated schedule above — ask your provider about timing for your child.

Do Premature Babies Follow the Same Schedule?

In most cases, yes. Premature babies are usually vaccinated according to their chronological age (time since birth), at the same ages and doses as full-term babies — not their corrected age. There are a few exceptions your pediatrician will manage, so confirm the plan for your baby.

Why Do Some Vaccines Need Several Doses?

Many vaccines need multiple doses to build and then lock in strong, lasting immunity. Early doses prime the immune system and later boosters (such as the DTaP, IPV, MMR and varicella shots at 4–6 years) strengthen protection before a child starts school.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Tools and Reading

• Milestone Tracker and Growth Tracker — follow development and WHO growth percentiles alongside vaccines
• Baby BMI Calculator and Formula Calculator for everyday infant-health checks
• Baby Milestones in the First Year — what to expect at each well-child visit
• Safe Sleep Environments for Infants and Toddlers and How to Interpret Your Baby's Different Cries

Methodology and Sources

Each schedule in this tool reproduces the published recommendations of the relevant national authority:

• United States — CDC Child & Adolescent Immunization Schedule, aligned with the AAP 2026 schedule.
• United Kingdom — NHS vaccination schedule.
• Canada — PHAC provincial/territorial immunization schedules (timing varies by province).
• Australia — National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule.

Schedules are reviewed and updated periodically by these bodies. This tool is for general information and planning; it is not a medical record or medical advice. Always confirm your child's vaccinations with their pediatrician or healthcare provider, who has their full history and can advise on catch-up, contraindications and any local schedule changes.