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Reporting data on timeliness of measles vaccine urged
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Knowing when a measles vaccine was delivered may play just as important a role in monitoring measles vaccination coverage trends as knowing that the vaccine was delivered, according to researchers writing in a recently published study.
Julia A. Bielicki, MD, MPH, of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology at the University Children’s Hospital, in Zurich, Switzerland, and colleagues looked at data on measles immunization patterns in a Swiss 2-year birth cohort born between 2006 and 2008.
Bielicki and colleagues noted certain patterns of measles vaccination in children who were up to date, including the fact that most of the immunized children had their vaccinations delivered coinciding with recommended well-child visits.
Although 71% of 3 year-olds had been vaccinated twice against measles, overall effective measles coverage was only 61% in those aged 6 months to 3 years resulting from cumulative delays in the cohort.
“Structural features of health care systems, in particular integration with key components of primary care such as well-child visits, thus seem to encourage parents to accept timely immunization and enable providers to offer vaccinations when most appropriate,” the researchers wrote, adding that data on when these vaccines are delivered are very important to examine trends in measles coverage.
Bielicki and colleagues noted that although the observed cohort represents only around 20% of children born during the study period, the data are likely to be compatible with standard official vaccine coverage estimates.
Disclosure: Dr. Bielicki reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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