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[High vaccination rates among children of Amsterdam]
M F van der Wal1, A C Diepenmaat, H Pauw-Plomp
1Gemeentelijke Geneeskundige en Gezondheidsdienst, Postbus 2200, 1000 CE Amsterdam. mvdwal@gggd.amsterdam.nl
Insights
Vaccination coverage for childhood diseases in Amsterdam is high overall. However, children born abroad and those attending anthroposophical schools show lower immunization rates, indicating targeted outreach is needed.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Immunization Practices
Background:
- Childhood vaccination is crucial for public health.
- Amsterdam's diverse population necessitates understanding vaccination coverage across different social and cultural groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify social or cultural groups with lower vaccination coverage for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis (DPTP) and mumps, measles, rubella (MMR) in Amsterdam.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive cross-sectional study analyzed vaccination and sociodemographic data of 83,217 children aged 2-12 in Amsterdam.
- Data included sex, birth country, school affiliation, and neighborhood socioeconomic status.
Main Results:
- Overall DPTP and MMR vaccination rates were 92.4% and 93.5%, respectively.
- Children born abroad (e.g., Surinam, Morocco) had lower full immunization rates (70.9% for DPTP, 79.5% for MMR).
- Children attending anthroposophical schools had significantly lower DPTP (81.0%) and MMR (59.9%) immunization rates compared to general municipal school attendees.
Conclusions:
- Amsterdam exhibits high overall childhood vaccination coverage.
- Targeted strategies are needed for children born abroad and those in specific educational settings (anthroposophical schools).
- Engaging skeptical parents with clear information on vaccine benefits and risks is essential for improving uptake.
Objective:
To examine if in Amsterdam there are social or cultural groups of children with a relatively low vaccination coverage for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and poliomyelitis (DPTP) and mumps, measles and rubella (MMR).
Design:
Descriptive cross-sectional study.
Method:
In the Department of Child Health Care of the Municipal Health Service of Amsterdam all 83,217 children aged 2-12 years living in Amsterdam on the 1st of January 2000 were analysed for vaccination and sociodemographic data collected routinely by the Department of Child Health Care. The sociodemographic data concerned sex, year of birth, country of birth of the mother and child, name of the school and postal code of the home address. Schools were grouped by (religious) affiliation on the basis of the Amsterdam school guide 1999/2000. Based on postal codes children were classified by the neighbourhoods in which they were living. Neighbourhoods were grouped by socio-economic status based on data from the Central Bureau for Statistics.
Results:
The overall vaccination rates of DPTP and MMR were 92.4% and 93.5% respectively. No important variation in vaccination coverage was identified between more and less affluent neighbourhoods. The uptake rate among foreign children was sometimes slightly higher and sometimes slightly lower compared with native children. Especially foreign children born abroad (Surinam, Antilles, Morocco, Turkey) were not fully vaccinated: 70.9% were fully immunized for DPTP, 79.5% for MMR. Children who visited anthroposophical schools were considerably less frequently fully immunized compared with children visiting other schools: for DPTP and MMR 81.0 and 59.9% respectively versus 94.4 en 95.3% for children attending general municipal schools.
Conclusion:
The vaccination coverage was high in children in Amsterdam. Further improvement of the vaccination uptake might be achieved by a more outreaching attitude to children born abroad, and by more intensely informing sceptical parents about the benefits and (supposed) dangers of vaccinations.