Peer-reviewed article
Immunisation Coverage Annual Report 2018
Brynley Hull, Alexandra Hendry, Aditi Dey, Peter McIntyre, Kristine Macartney et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This report analyses Australian Immunisation Register data for children under 5 years, comparing vaccination coverage at 12, 24 and 60 months between 2017 and 2018. Fully vaccinated coverage rose at 12 and 60 months but fell at 24 months, where more vaccines are now required. Rotavirus and influenza vaccine coverage both increased. Children in the least advantaged areas had lower on-time coverage than those in the most advantaged areas. The authors conclude that coverage keeps improving and suggest new targets for earlier protection in the first two years of life.
Key points
- Fully vaccinated coverage was 93.9% at 12 months and 94.0% at 60 months, but fell to 90.1% at 24 months, in the context of additional antigens required.
- Rotavirus vaccine coverage rose from 86.8% to 90.9% after the move to a two-dose schedule from mid-2017.
- Recorded influenza vaccine coverage doubled from 14.9% to 31.4% in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and rose from 5.0% to 25.9% in non-Indigenous children.
- Timely coverage in the least advantaged area quintile was 3–4% lower than in the most advantaged quintile at the 9-, 15- and 21-month milestones.
- Second-dose measles-mumps-rubella coverage at 60 months was 98.5% in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and 96.2% in non-Indigenous children, above the 95% target.
Limitations
The abstract describes register-based coverage figures and does not explain the causes of the changes, such as the effect of the schedule change on rotavirus coverage. Only the abstract is available, so methods and data quality, including the completeness of recorded influenza vaccination, cannot be judged.
Abstract
Australian Immunisation Register data have been analysed for children aged < 5 years, focusing on changes in coverage at key milestone ages (12, 24 and 60 months) between 2017 and 2018, while also documenting longer term trends. Fully vaccinated coverage increased at the 12- and 60-months milestones to 93.9% and 94.0%, respectively, but, in the context of additional antigens required, decreased to 90.1% at 24 months. Following the move to a two-dose rotavirus vaccine schedule across Australia from mid-2017, rotavirus vaccine coverage increased from 86.8% to 90.9%. In 2018, most jurisdictions funded influenza vaccine for non-Indigenous children aged 6 months to < 5 years; the National Immunisation Program has funded influenza vaccine for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and medically at-risk children since 2015 and 2010, respectively. Recorded influenza vaccine coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children doubled from 14.9% to 31.4%, and increased fivefold in non-Indigenous children from 5.0% to 25.9% in 2018. The timeliness of fully vaccinated coverage was also examined at earlier milestones (3 months after due date of last scheduled vaccine) of 9, 15, 21 and 51 months, by area of residence. For all children, coverage among those living in the least advantaged residential area quintile was 3–4% lower than that for those in the most advantaged quintile at the 9-, 15- and 21-month milestones. Importantly, although Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had lower coverage for the second dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine at 24 months (91.8% versus 93.1% for non-Indigenous), coverage increased to 98.5% at 60 months; coverage was also high in non-Indigenous children at 96.2%, above the 95% target critical to measles control. These data demonstrate continuing improvements in immunisation coverage and suggest potential new coverage targets for earlier protection in the first two years of life.