Immunization. Vaccination schedule. Contraindications to vaccination.

1. Big picture

Immunization is one of the highest-yield topics in pediatrics because it connects prevention, infectious diseases, public health, neonatology, immunology, and emergency medicine.

In the oral exam, the examiner usually wants you to explain:

1. What immunization means: active vs passive.
2. Which vaccines are live vs inactivated.
3. The childhood vaccination schedule, especially the Hungarian schedule.
4. True contraindications vs false contraindications.
5. Special situations: prematurity, immunodeficiency, pregnancy, blood products, splenectomy, HBsAg-positive mother, tetanus/rabies/varicella exposure.
6. Adverse events and emergency management, especially anaphylaxis.

The key clinical sentence:

Vaccination should be delayed only for true contraindications or significant precautions; mild illness, prematurity, stable neurological disease, breastfeeding, and family history of seizures are not contraindications.

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