Baby Vaccine Schedule by Age: Europe (NHS England) vs US

A vaccine schedule is an address, not a universal calendar. A search for the “EU baby vaccine schedule” sounds as though Europe has one timetable; it does not. Each EU/EEA country sets its own national policy, and the ECDC maintains a country-by-country comparison tool because the recommended ages and products differ.

So this guide makes an explicit comparison:

• European example: the routine NHS schedule in England, checked 13 August 2026.
• United States: the CDC’s currently operative July 2025 birth-to-6-years schedule, checked 13 August 2026.

These are planning tables, not individual prescriptions. A child’s birth date, previous doses, health conditions, local supply, travel, and catch-up status can change what is due; both the NHS and CDC tell families to check missed or special-case doses with their healthcare professional.

European example: NHS England schedule by age

This table describes routine vaccinations for a child born on or after 1 January 2025, the cohort covered by England’s newest MMRV sequence. It follows the current NHS vaccination schedule and its birth-date rules for MMRV.

Age	Routine vaccines	What the shorthand covers
8 weeks	6-in-1 dose 1; rotavirus dose 1; MenB dose 1	6-in-1: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, hepatitis B; MenB: meningococcal group B
12 weeks	6-in-1 dose 2; rotavirus dose 2; MenB dose 2	Second doses in the infant series
16 weeks	6-in-1 dose 3; pneumococcal (PCV) dose 1	Completes the first three-dose 6-in-1 series
12 months	MMRV dose 1; PCV dose 2; MenB dose 3	MMRV: measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (chickenpox)
18 months	6-in-1 dose 4; MMRV dose 2	Applies to the newer birth cohorts described by the NHS
From age 2	Children’s flu vaccine each year when eligible	The NHS programme is seasonal and age/eligibility based
3 years 4 months	4-in-1 preschool booster	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio

The timetable changed recently. The NHS 6-in-1 guidance now includes an 18-month fourth dose for children born on or after 1 July 2024, while MMRV replaced routine MMR for eligible younger cohorts. An older sibling may therefore have a different-looking record without either child being “off schedule.”

Why this is not “the EU schedule”

The ECDC explains that national schedules vary with local disease patterns, health systems, and resources. Its Vaccine Scheduler is the right next stop for France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, or another EU/EEA country. If your child started a series elsewhere, bring the original record rather than translating one table into another yourself; the ECDC specifically notes that its comparison tool supports continuity when families move.

United States: CDC schedule by age

The table below condenses the CDC’s Recommended Immunizations for Birth Through 6 Years Old. Where a vaccine has a permitted age range or depends on product, the range stays visible instead of being forced into a single birthday.

Age or window	Routine vaccines / immunizing agents	Important timing note
Birth	Hepatitis B dose 1; RSV preventive antibody when indicated	RSV antibody eligibility depends on maternal RSV vaccination and the baby’s circumstances; it is not a vaccine
1–2 months	Hepatitis B dose 2	The exact visit can fall within the recommended window
2 months	Rotavirus dose 1; DTaP dose 1; Hib dose 1; pneumococcal dose 1; polio (IPV) dose 1	First doses of the main infant series
4 months	Rotavirus dose 2; DTaP dose 2; Hib dose 2; pneumococcal dose 2; IPV dose 2	Second infant-series visit
6 months	DTaP dose 3; pneumococcal dose 3; hepatitis B and IPV doses within their 6–18-month windows; rotavirus and Hib dose 3 when the product calls for it	Influenza begins annually from 6 months; some children need 2 doses in their first season. CDC marks COVID-19 for discussion with a healthcare provider
12–15 months	Hib booster; pneumococcal booster; MMR dose 1; varicella dose 1	Hepatitis A’s 2-dose series can begin from 12–23 months, with doses separated by at least 6 months
15–18 months	DTaP dose 4	The schedule uses a window, not one exact day
4–6 years	DTaP dose 5; IPV dose 4; MMR dose 2; varicella dose 2	Commonly completed before school entry

The CDC schedule distinguishes doses recommended for all children from those for some children and those requiring a parent-provider discussion. Its page also says to get individual guidance when a child has a higher-risk condition, will travel outside the US, or has missed a recommended dose. The CDC catch-up schedule is designed for those gaps; a late series usually needs a catch-up plan, not a guess based on the infant table.

The differences that matter when comparing records

You do not need to memorize two alphabets of abbreviations. Look for these practical differences instead:

1. The first universal routine visit happens at a different age. The US schedule includes hepatitis B at birth, while NHS England’s universal infant series begins at 8 weeks; England also has selective birth/early doses for particular risks. Compare the official CDC and UKHSA tables rather than treating the blank space as a missed appointment.
2. Combination products package protection differently. NHS England’s 6-in-1 vaccine combines six protections in one injection; the CDC table names DTaP, Hib, hepatitis B, and IPV as separate schedule lines even when clinicians may use combination products.
3. Some diseases appear routinely in one table but not the other. MenB is a routine infant series in the NHS schedule; hepatitis A and varicella are routine early-childhood series in the US CDC schedule. England’s newer MMRV programme now includes varicella for specified birth cohorts.
4. Seasonal and risk-based recommendations do not fit neatly into a birthday row. Both systems publish additional rules for flu, travel, medical risk, and catch-up; the country table is the starting point, not the whole clinical record. See NHS eligibility detail and CDC schedule notes.

A useful five-minute record check

Before the next appointment, put four things in one place:

• the child’s country or jurisdiction schedule;
• the vaccine name and dose number already given;
• the date each dose was given;
• a note for anything missed, given abroad, or offered because of travel or medical risk.

That record does not decide what should be administered — the clinician does. It does make the appointment less dependent on memory. Storklet’s vaccine log lives alongside the growth and milestones tracker, so a family can keep the dates and dose history with the rest of the child’s timeline. Browse all Storklet features to see how the record fits together.

Footnotes and useful trivia

1. The word vaccine traces back to the Latin vacca, meaning cow. WHO’s history of vaccination connects the name to Edward Jenner’s 1796 smallpox work with cowpox.
2. Smallpox remains the landmark endpoint of vaccination: WHO declared it eradicated in 1980, after the last known natural case in 1977.
3. “Herd immunity” is also called community immunity. The CDC definition is a situation where enough people are immune that person-to-person spread becomes unlikely, indirectly offering some protection to people who are not vaccinated. It is a population effect, not an alternative personal schedule.

Sources and Further Reading

We base our explainers on high-quality academic research and public health standards.

NHS: Vaccinations and when to have them

nhs.uk

UKHSA: Complete routine and selective immunisation schedule

gov.uk

CDC: Recommended Immunizations for Birth Through 6 Years Old

cdc.gov

ECDC: Vaccine schedules in EU/EEA countries

vaccine-schedule.ecdc.europa.eu

WHO: A brief history of vaccination

who.int