Important Vaccines Are Often Not Received On Time

Although the vast majority of children receive the first dose of primary vaccines (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis [DTP]) early or on time, fewer children receive the subsequent doses of the vaccine in a timely manner, according to a recent study.

For their study, the researchers assessed 1782 children born between 2000 and 2001 who were enrolled in the Millennium Cohort Study in Wales. When children reached age 7 years, patient data were obtained with parental consent from the National Community Child Health Data base records.
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Factors including age at receipt, timeliness of vaccination, and intervals between vaccine doses were assessed based on the recommended vaccination schedule for children at that time for vaccines such as primary, polio, and the first dose of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR). When children reached age 3 years, parental reports were compared with child health recorded MMR vaccination status.

Results showed that 94% of children received the first dose of primary vaccines early or on time. However, this number decreased to 82% for the second dose, 65% for the third dose, and 88% for the pre-school booster. Median intervals between doses had exceeded the recommended schedule for the second dose, third dose, and pre-school booster, but not for the first dose. Variation between children had been significant.

The researchers noted that there had been 97% concordance between parental reported and child health recorded MMR status.

“Routine immunization records provide useful information on timely receipt of vaccines and can be used to assess the quality of childhood vaccination programs,” the researchers concluded. “Parental report of MMR vaccine status is reliable.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Walton S, Cortina-Borja M, Dezateux C, et al. Measuring the timeliness of childhood vaccinations: using cohort data and routine health records to evaluate quality of immunisation services. Vaccine. 2017;35(51):7166-7173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.10.085.