The Pediatric Vaccination Calendar in Lebanon

Lebanon's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) is run by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) with technical and financial support from WHO and Gavi. Vaccines on the national calendar are provided free of charge in public primary healthcare centers; private pediatricians offer the same schedule plus optional vaccines.

The national EPI schedule (simplified)

Birth: BCG, Hepatitis B birth dose.
2 months: Pentavalent (DTwP-Hib-HepB), oral polio (OPV), inactivated polio (IPV), pneumococcal (PCV), rotavirus.
4 months: Pentavalent, OPV, PCV, rotavirus.
6 months: Pentavalent, OPV.
9 months: Measles (sometimes given as MMR).
12 months: MMR, PCV booster.
18 months: DTwP booster, OPV booster, Hepatitis A (introduced in some governorates).
4–6 years: DTwP booster, OPV.
School entry / adolescence: Td booster.

Note: rotavirus was added to the routine schedule in 2022. Hepatitis A is being progressively scaled up.

Optional / supplementary vaccines

Varicella (chickenpox) — usually around 12 and 18 months.
HPV — recommended from age 9 by international guidelines, available privately.
Meningococcal ACWY — required for travelers to certain destinations and offered routinely by many Lebanese pediatricians.
Annual influenza vaccine for children with chronic conditions.

Catch-up

If you've missed doses, the MoPH publishes a catch-up schedule. Bring your child's old vaccination booklet — pediatricians can reconstruct an appropriate sequence rather than restarting from zero.

The national EPI schedule (simplified)

Birth: BCG, Hepatitis B birth dose.
2 months: Pentavalent (DTwP-Hib-HepB), oral polio (OPV), inactivated polio (IPV), pneumococcal (PCV), rotavirus.
4 months: Pentavalent, OPV, PCV, rotavirus.
6 months: Pentavalent, OPV.
9 months: Measles (sometimes given as MMR).
12 months: MMR, PCV booster.
18 months: DTwP booster, OPV booster, Hepatitis A (introduced in some governorates).
4–6 years: DTwP booster, OPV.
School entry / adolescence: Td booster.

Note: rotavirus was added to the routine schedule in 2022. Hepatitis A is being progressively scaled up.

Optional / supplementary vaccines

Varicella (chickenpox) — usually around 12 and 18 months.
HPV — recommended from age 9 by international guidelines, available privately.
Meningococcal ACWY — required for travelers to certain destinations and offered routinely by many Lebanese pediatricians.
Annual influenza vaccine for children with chronic conditions.

Catch-up

If you've missed doses, the MoPH publishes a catch-up schedule. Bring your child's old vaccination booklet — pediatricians can reconstruct an appropriate sequence rather than restarting from zero.