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Published on: July 31, 2021
Gaps in measles immunisation coverage for pre-school children in Aotearoa New Zealand: a cross-sectional study
Nienke N Hagedoorn1, Andrew Anglemyer2, Tony Walls3
1Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Paediatrics, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Insights
Measles immunisation coverage for young children in New Zealand is declining, particularly for Māori children, falling below the 90% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks. Urgent catch-up programmes are essential to improve vaccination rates.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Immunisation Science
Background:
- Measles outbreaks pose a significant public health risk, especially to unvaccinated children.
- Maintaining high immunisation coverage is crucial for achieving herd immunity and preventing disease transmission.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and quantify gaps in measles immunisation coverage among children under five years old in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
- To analyze trends in measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage by birth cohort, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic region.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study analyzing data from the National Immunisation Register.
- Extraction of first (MMR1) and second (MMR2) measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine coverage rates for birth cohorts from 2017 to 2020.
- Stratification of coverage data by district health board (DHB), ethnicity, and deprivation quintile.
Main Results:
- MMR1 coverage declined from 95.1% (2017) to 88.9% (2020).
- MMR2 coverage remained below 90% for all cohorts, with a low of 61.6% in the 2018 birth cohort.
- Māori children experienced the lowest MMR1 coverage, declining from 92.8% (2017) to 78.4% (2020).
- Six DHBs reported average MMR1 coverage below 90%.
Conclusions:
- Current measles immunisation coverage rates are insufficient to prevent potential outbreaks in children under five.
- The declining MMR1 coverage, especially among Māori children, is a critical concern.
- There is an urgent need for targeted catch-up immunisation programmes to bolster measles protection.
Aims:
To evaluate gaps in measles immunisation coverage for children <5 years in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, we extracted coverage rates for the first measles, mumps and rubella (MMR1) vaccine and second MMR vaccine (MMR2) from the National Immunisation Register for birth cohorts 2017 to 2020. We described measles coverage rates per birth cohort, and stratified per district health board (DHB), ethnicity and deprivation quintile.
Results:
Coverage for MMR1 declined from 95.1% for those born in 2017 to 88.9% for those born in 2020. The coverage for MMR2 was below 90% for all the birth cohorts, with the lowest MMR2 coverage in the birth cohort of 2018 (61.6%). MMR1 coverage was lowest for children of Māori ethnicity and coverage declined over time: 92.8% for those born in 2017 to 78.4% for those born in 2020. Six DHBs had average MMR1 coverage <90% including Bay of Plenty, Lakes, Northland, Tairāwhiti, West Coast and Whanganui.
Conclusions:
Immunisation coverage rates for measles are insufficient to prevent a potential measles outbreak in children <5 years. Concerningly, the coverage for MMR1 is declining, especially in Māori children. Catch-up immunisation programmes are urgently needed to improve immunisation coverage.
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