What do we know about 7vPCV coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children? A 2007 update

In 2001, a publicly funded 7 valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vPCV) program commenced for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged less than 2 years. This study updates early estimates of 7vPCV coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children using Australian Childhood Immunisation Register data between 31 December 2004 and 30 September 2007. We chose four 3-month birth cohorts of children and assessed their immunisation status at 12 months of age for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and for 'fully immunised'. After the introduction of universal childhood conjugate pneumococcal vaccination in 2005, 7vPCV coverage increased substantially among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children nationally, and in all jurisdictions but remained lower than among non-Indigenous children. The results re-emphasise the greater impact of universal, compared with targeted, programs on vaccine coverage among Indigenous children.