Temporal and spatial distribution trends of polio vaccine coverage in less than one-year old children in Brazil, 2011-2021

Vaccination coverage and factors associated with incomplete polio vaccine schedule in children born in 2017-2018, in state capitals and interior region municipalities of Northeast Brazil

OBJECTIVE

To analyse vaccination coverage and factors associated with incomplete polio vaccination in a cohort of children born in 2017-2018, in state capitals and interior region municipalities of Northeast Brazil.

METHODS

Household survey of children aged ≤24 months conducted between 2020 and 2022. Vaccination coverage and dropout rates were estimated, as well as factors associated with incomplete vaccination, analyzed by calculating odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).

RESULTS

: Among 12,137 children, vaccination coverage (4 doses) was 80.9% (95%CI 78.4;83.1); 8.4% were not vaccinated. Not having a vaccination card (OR=18.06; 95%CI 10.01;32.61) and use of private services (OR=1.46; 95%CI 1.23;1.74) were associated with incomplete vaccination. Higher dropout rates were found for the booster dose, especially in the highest stratum.

CONCLUSION

Low vaccination coverage, poor dose follow-up and high dropout rates were found for polio vaccines in the areas studied.

Analysis of the impact of health interventions on vaccination coverage for children under two years of age in municipalities of Minas Gerais

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of the state action-research project on vaccination coverage in children under two years of age in the state of Minas Gerais, according to the size of the municipalities, comparing the years 2021 and 2022.

METHODS

This is a study nested within the state action-research project, a before-after community clinical trial carried out in 212 municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais. This study used secondary data on Vaccination Coverage (VC), Homogeneity of Vaccines (HVC) and Abandonment rate of multi-dose vaccines. After classifying municipalities by size and vaccination coverage rates were equitably classified, an analysis of secondary data on 12 immunobiologicals indicated for the age group in question and their abandonment rate of multi-dose vaccines was carried out.

RESULTS

There was an increase in the proportion of municipalities classified as small that reached the vaccination coverage target set by the National Immunization Program (PNI) after the action-research project was carried out. There was an increase in the proportion of small municipalities classified as having a low abandonment rate for the rotavirus vaccine, in the adequate homogeneity of vaccination coverage and in the classification of risk as very low risk and low and medium risk, all with a statistically significant difference.

CONCLUSION

There was an influence of municipal size on the effectiveness of the actions applied to increase vaccination coverage, explaining that proposing individualized actions for each municipality is essential to improve vaccination coverage.

[Brazilian Ministry of Health strategy to increase vaccination coverage at bordersEstrategia del Ministerio de Salud de Brasil para aumentar las tasas de cobertura de vacunación en las fronteras]

Objective

Evaluate the implementation of the Ministry of Health's "Action Plan: Border Vaccination Strategy - Agenda 2022" in the Brazil's 33 twin cities and evaluate the increase in the country's vaccination coverage (VC).

Methodology

Pre-post community clinical trial. Implementation of the strategy was analyzed, and pre- and post-intervention VC were compared in two stages: P1 (pre-intervention) and P2 (post-intervention). Based on statistical analyses of P1 and P2 coverage, calculations were made of municipal averages, standard deviation, and difference in VC between the two periods.

Results

Integration was observed between the primary health care (PHC), surveillance, immunization, and special indigenous health district (DSEI) teams, although there were difficulties, for example, in relation to migratory flows. While immigration flows present challenges in the areas of immunization, PHC, and DSEI, the difficulties are compounded by the polarization of these services, which hinders intersectoral integration. After carrying out the workshops, a total of 50 977 doses were administered in the general population in the 33 twin cities. There was an increase in vaccination coverage in children up to 1 year of age in the locations evaluated after the intervention, which may be relevant in terms of increasing VC in Brazil.

Conclusion

There was an increase in vaccination coverage in children up to 1 year of age in the locations evaluated after the intervention, helping to increase VC in Brazil.

Determinants of immunization in polio super high-risk union councils of Pakistan

BACKGROUND

The current polio epidemiology in Pakistan poses a unique challenge for global eradication as the country is affected by ongoing endemic poliovirus transmission. Across the country, 40 union councils (UCs) which serve as core reservoirs for poliovirus with continuous incidences of polio cases are categorized as super-high-risk union councils (SHRUCs).

METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 39 SHRUCs using a two-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. 6,976 children aged 12-23 months were covered. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using STATA version 17.

RESULTS

Based on both vaccination records and recall, 48.3% of children were fully-, 35.4 % were partially-, and 16.3% were non-vaccinated in the SHRUC districts. A child is considered fully vaccinated when h/she completed vaccination for BCG, OPV0, OPV 1-3, Penta 1-3, PCV 1-3, IPV, and MCV1. Vaccination cards were seen for over half of the children in the SHRUC districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the majority of the SHRUC districts in Sindh, except for the SHRUC district of Malir the districts of Balochistan. Results for polio vacancies show that 60.9% of children from the SHRUC districts were vaccinated with at least three doses of OPV and one dose of IPV, while 20.4% were vaccinated with any OPV doses or IPV and 18.7% of children did not receive any polio vaccines. The dropout rate between vaccine visits was higher than the WHO-recommended cutoff point of 10% for all vaccine doses in the SHRUC districts. The likelihood of being fully vaccinated was higher among the children of educated parents. Full vaccination was found significant among the children of any SHRUC districts compared to district Killa Abdullah.

CONCLUSION

Context-specific strategies with more focus on community engagement and targeted mobilization, along with robust monitoring mechanisms, would help address the underlying challenges of under-immunization in the SHRUCs.