Under the National Immunization Schedule of India, tetanus and diphtheria toxoid combined as Td has replaced single antigen TT for adolescent boosting. At which two ages are the routine Td booster doses administered?

• A 5 years and 10 years
• B 7 years and 14 years
• C 6 years and 12 years
• D 10 years and 16 years ✓

Explanation

The National Immunization Schedule gives two Td boosters to school-going children: Td-1 at 10 years and Td-2 at 16 years. This replaced the older single-antigen TT boosters because diphtheria protection wanes in adolescence and adult-formulation diphtheria toxoid carries less reactogenicity. Option A corresponds to old DPT booster thinking, not the current Td schedule, and is the distractor students raised on older editions will pick.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 25th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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