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Vaccination schedule in Turkey: a guide for expat families
Moving to Turkey with a baby or young child? Here is the Turkish national childhood vaccination schedule in plain English — what is given and when, how it differs from the schedule you may know from home, and how a schedule started abroad is continued here without missing or repeating doses.
The 2026 Turkish national vaccination schedule
Vaccines on the national schedule are administered free of charge at public family health centres (Aile Sağlığı Merkezi) for children registered in the Turkish system; they can also be given privately during a hospital visit.
| When | Vaccines |
|---|---|
| At birth | Hepatitis B (dose 1) |
| End of month 2 | BCG (tuberculosis) · Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV) dose 1 · 5-in-1 combination (DTaP-IPV-Hib) + Hepatitis B dose 1 |
| End of month 4 | PCV dose 2 · Combination vaccine dose 2 |
| End of month 6 | Combination vaccine dose 3 · Oral polio (OPV) dose 1 |
| End of month 9 | MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) — early extra dose |
| End of month 12 | PCV booster · Varicella (chickenpox) · MMR dose 1 |
| End of month 18 | Combination vaccine booster · OPV dose 2 · Hepatitis A dose 1 |
| End of month 24 | Hepatitis A dose 2 |
| Month 48 (age 4) | 4-in-1 booster (DTaP-IPV) · MMR dose 2 |
| Age 13 | Td (tetanus-diphtheria) booster |
The official, current version of the schedule is published by the Turkish Ministry of Health at asi.saglik.gov.tr.
How it differs from the US / UK / EU schedules
If your child started their vaccinations abroad, these are the differences parents most often ask about:
- BCG (tuberculosis) is routine in Turkey — given at month 2. It is not part of the routine US schedule and is offered only to at-risk babies in the UK, so most expat children will not have had it. Whether your child should receive it is decided together at the visit.
- An early measles (MMR-containing) dose at month 9 — in addition to the usual doses at 12 months and age 4. Most Western schedules start MMR at 12 months.
- Hepatitis A is routine (months 18 and 24) — as in the US, but unlike the UK and several EU countries.
- Oral polio drops (OPV) at months 6 and 18 — given alongside the injected combination vaccines. The US and UK use injected polio only, so the drops may be unfamiliar; they are a standard part of the Turkish programme.
- Rotavirus is not in the national schedule — unlike the US, UK and much of the EU. It is available privately in Turkey (see below), and the timing window is narrow, so plan early.
- Meningococcal B is not routine — unlike the UK. It is available privately and recommended by the Turkish Society of Social Pediatrics.
The rest of the programme — the DTaP-IPV-Hib combinations, pneumococcal conjugate, MMR, varicella and hepatitis B — broadly mirrors what you know from home, with small timing differences that are handled in the catch-up plan.
Vaccines outside the national schedule
The Turkish Society of Social Pediatrics recommends several additional vaccines for healthy children. These are paid for privately and given with a prescription:
- Rotavirus — oral vaccine against severe infant diarrhoea. The window is narrow: the first dose must be started before week 15 and the series completed before month 8 — ideally planned at the 2-month check-up.
- Meningococcal ACWY and B — against the main causes of bacterial meningitis; the schedule depends on the brand and can start in infancy.
- Influenza — yearly from month 6; two doses in the first season.
- HPV — for girls and boys aged 9–14, two doses six months apart; from the 15th birthday onwards, three doses (0-2-6 months).
Vaccinated abroad? Bring the record — nothing is wasted
Doses documented in your home-country record remain valid. At the visit, the record is reviewed against the Turkish schedule and a personal catch-up plan is made: missing doses are scheduled, valid ones are never repeated. Useful to bring:
- Your child's vaccination booklet or printout (the "yellow card", the UK red book, or a clinic printout — English is fine; other languages can usually be worked out from the vaccine names and dates).
- Any record of adverse reactions to previous vaccines, if there were any.
- If you have one, your child's Turkish ID/registration number — vaccinations given in Turkey are recorded in the national e-Nabız system, which you can access as a parent.
A delayed schedule is never a reason to worry or start over — a catch-up schedule is always possible at any age.
What to expect after a vaccine
Mild redness and tenderness at the injection site, a day or two of fussiness and low-grade fever are common and usually pass on their own. Plenty of fluids and, if needed, the fever reducer your doctor recommends are enough.
Contact your doctor if
- Fever stays above 39 °C despite measures, or fussiness lasts longer than 48 hours.
- Redness or swelling at the injection site keeps growing.
- Widespread rash, swelling of the lips or face, or difficulty breathing — emergency (call 112).