Immunization — schedule, vaccines and Universal Immunization Programme

Immunization is the process by which a person is made resistant to an infectious disease, usually through a vaccine. A vaccine trains the immune system to recognise a disease-causing organism or its toxin without causing the full disease. For recruitment examinations, the important distinction is between vaccination as the act of giving a vaccine and immunization as the protection that follows. Routine immunization is a preventive service; it reduces deaths, disability, outbreaks and treatment cost before disease appears in the community.

In maternal and child health, immunization protects two groups at once: pregnant women and young children. Maternal Td vaccination protects the mother from tetanus and helps protect the newborn from neonatal tetanus. Childhood vaccines protect against diseases such as tuberculosis in severe childhood forms, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles, rubella, hepatitis B, Hib disease, rotavirus diarrhoea, pneumococcal disease and Japanese encephalitis in endemic districts. For a Mahila Supervisor, the programme angle is also important: Anganwadi workers, ASHAs and ANMs support due-list preparation, mobilisation, counselling and follow-up at village or urban session sites.

Core idea: immunization is not a one-time injection campaign; it is a scheduled, tracked, community-level public health service.