Singapore's childhood vaccines are not optional paperwork. Measles and diphtheria doses are compulsory under the Infectious Diseases Act, and schools expect the record. The schedule that decides the dates is the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule (NCIS), and a printed Child Health Booklet will not stay the last word: HealthHub says the booklet is due to be amended on 1 January 2027 to match upcoming NCIS changes.
Use the National Immunisation Registry for the doses your child has had. Use the table below for what the current schedule asks for. If the two disagree after 1 January 2027, the registry and the clinic win, not the booklet in the drawer.
What the NCIS covers
The Communicable Diseases Agency lists 14 diseases on the NCIS: tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus, and influenza.
You will not see 14 separate jabs. Clinics use combination vaccines. The 6-in-1 covers diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, and hepatitis B. The 5-in-1 is the same without hepatitis B. MMRV combines measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. The diseases are the schedule. The brand in the syringe (Infanrix hexa and Hexaxim are the 6-in-1 products on MOH's subsidised list) is the clinic's stock.
Only measles and diphtheria are compulsory by law. The rest are recommended national schedule, which is what polyclinics, CHAS GPs, and schools actually follow. Skipping a recommended dose because it is not on the compulsory pair is how children turn up at Primary 1 with a catch-up argument.
Doses by age
This follows the current NCIS notes published by the Communicable Diseases Agency and the Child Health Booklet. Combination products mean one injection can tick several of these lines.
| Age | What is due |
|---|---|
| Birth | BCG. Hepatitis B dose 1. |
| 2 months | 6-in-1 dose 1, which includes hepatitis B dose 2. |
| 4 months | 6-in-1 dose 2. Pneumococcal dose 1. Children still on a 5-in-1 schedule may take that dose at 3 or 4 months. |
| 6 months | 6-in-1 dose 3, which includes hepatitis B dose 3. Pneumococcal dose 2. |
| 6 months to under 5 years | Influenza, every season. See the October 2026 flu timing before you book this year's dose. |
| 12 months | Pneumococcal booster. MMR dose 1 and varicella dose 1, given as separate injections. |
| 15 months | MMR dose 2, given as MMRV. |
| 18 months | Booster of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and Hib. |
| Primary 5 (about 10 to 11) | Tdap and polio booster, through the Health Promotion Board school programme. |
| Secondary 1 and 2 | HPV for girls, through the school programme. MMR catch-up if earlier doses were missed. |
Two exceptions that clinics still get wrong if you only memorise the table.
Babies born to mothers with hepatitis B should still receive a monovalent hepatitis B dose at about one month, then continue with 6-in-1 so the six-month dose is covered. That extra dose exists to cut the chance of the infection passing from mother to baby. Do not let a clinic "simplify" it into the standard 6-in-1 only.
MMRV as the first measles dose, between 12 and 47 months, has a higher febrile-seizure risk than separate MMR and varicella jabs. The schedule therefore wants separate injections at 12 months, and MMRV at 15 months for dose 2. If a clinic prefers MMRV for dose 1, they should say so and get consent. MMRV is not used as the default past 12 years.
Children and teenagers with specific medical conditions may also need pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, and influenza after age 5. That is a doctor decision, not a line you copy off this table.
How to see what your child has already had
The National Immunisation Registry keeps records for Singapore residents aged 18 and below. Log in with Singpass on the NIR site, or in the LifeSG app under healthcare services, "View child immunisation records."
Bring the health booklet anyway. The clinic writes the dose in the booklet and notifies the registry. A dose given overseas may be missing until you show the foreign record and ask the clinic to update it. A missing line is not always a missing jab.
After 1 January 2027, treat an old booklet as a history, not as the instruction sheet. HealthHub has already said the booklet will change with the NCIS. Nobody has published a parent-facing "here is the new grid" that replaces the doses above yet. Check the registry and ask the clinic at the next visit rather than adding a dose because a blog, including this one, still shows the previous table.
What you pay
Eligible Singapore citizen children can receive the specific NCIS brands on MOH's subsidised vaccine list at polyclinics and CHAS GP clinics. Full subsidy applies to those brands when the child meets the schedule criteria. A clinic using a non-listed brand, or a dose given outside the criteria, can be a private charge.
Permanent residents should ask the polyclinic, which is where childhood vaccine subsidies are centred. Private paediatric clinics can give the same antigens and will quote their own fee.
Confirm the price before the injection. "It is on the schedule" and "this clinic bills $0 for it" are different sentences.
Developmental screening visits are bolted onto several of these ages (around 4 to 8 weeks, 3 to 5 months, 6 to 12 months, 18 months, 30 months, and 48 months). You can do the jab and the check on the same day. You do not have to.
If you are late
Catch-up is normal. A child who missed the 4-month pneumococcal dose does not restart from birth, and does not skip to 12 months as if the missed dose never mattered. The clinic counts what is on the registry and orders the remaining doses with the right gaps.
MMR catch-up is two doses at least four weeks apart. Varicella catch-up is two doses, three months apart under age 13, and four to eight weeks apart from 13 to 17. HPV missed at school can be finished in clinic. Ask for the catch-up plan in writing so the next clinic does not invent a third schedule.
FAQ
Are all NCIS vaccines compulsory?
No. Measles and diphtheria are compulsory. The others are the national recommendation, and they are what CHAS clinics and the school programme deliver.
Can I follow another country's schedule?
You can, until a school or a childcare centre asks for the Singapore record. Foreign doses count if they are documented. The gaps and the combination products will not match this table one for one, so book a review rather than assuming the child is done.
Where is the other immunisation article?
An older general piece, /blog/guide-child-immunisation, repeats vaccine basics without this schedule. Use this page for dates. Use the clinic for the dose your child is due next.
What if my baby is feverish on the day?
Postpone. A vaccine visit is not the place to assess a sick infant. Fever in a toddler has the signs worth watching. Call the clinic before you give a fever medicine and turn up anyway. Some medicines are fine. Showing up late and unwell wastes the slot.
Book the next due dose at a paediatric clinic or a CHAS GP, with the booklet and the Singpass record on your phone. If the counter cannot tell you whether today's injection is on the subsidised list, do not start until they can.
