Tan Ngiap Chuan, Pang Jeremy, Koh Eileen
SingHealth Polyclinics, Singapore 150167, Singapore.
SingHealth Duke-NUS Family Medicine Academic Clinical Programme, Singapore 150167, Singapore.
Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Apr 17;11(4):859. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11040859.
Immunization schedules affect community vaccine uptake rates, especially in children who have defaulted on their regular immunization timelines. In 2020, Singapore revised its National Childhood Immunization Schedule (NCIS) to incorporate two new combination vaccines: the hexavalent hepatitis, diphtheria, acellular pertussis, tetanus (DTaP), hemophilus influenzae b (Hib), inactivated poliovirus (IPV) (6-in-1), and the quadrivalent measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccines, thus reducing the mean number of clinic visits and vaccine doses by two. Our database study aims to evaluate the impact of the 2020 NCIS on catch-up vaccination uptake rates in children at 18 and 24 months of age and the catch-up immunization rates of individual vaccines at two years. Vaccination data from two cohorts, in 2018 (n = 11,371) and in 2019 (n = 11,719), were extracted from the Electronic Medical Records. Catch-up vaccination rates increased by 5.2% and 2.6% in children on the new NCIS at 18 and 24 months, respectively. The uptake of individual 5-in-1 (DTaP, IPV, Hib), MMR, and pneumococcal vaccines increased by 3.7%, 4.1%, and 1.9% at 18 months. Reduced vaccination doses and visits in the new NCIS bring direct and indirect benefits to parents and promote vaccination adherence for their children. These findings highlight the importance of timelines in improving catch-up vaccination rates in any NCIS.
免疫接种计划会影响社区疫苗接种率,尤其是那些未按时接种常规疫苗的儿童。2020年,新加坡修订了其国家儿童免疫接种计划(NCIS),纳入了两种新的联合疫苗:六价乙肝、白喉、无细胞百日咳、破伤风(DTaP)、b型流感嗜血杆菌(Hib)、灭活脊髓灰质炎病毒(IPV)(6合1)疫苗,以及四价麻疹、腮腺炎、风疹和水痘(MMRV)疫苗,从而将平均门诊次数和疫苗接种剂量减少了两次。我们的数据库研究旨在评估2020年NCIS对18个月和24个月大儿童的补种疫苗接种率以及两岁时各疫苗补种率的影响。从电子病历中提取了2018年(n = 11371)和2019年(n = 11719)两个队列的疫苗接种数据。在新NCIS下,18个月和24个月大儿童的补种疫苗接种率分别提高了5.2%和2.6%。18个月时,五联疫苗(DTaP、IPV、Hib)、MMR疫苗和肺炎球菌疫苗的接种率分别提高了3.7%、4.1%和1.9%。新NCIS中减少的疫苗接种剂量和门诊次数为家长带来了直接和间接的好处,并促进了他们孩子的疫苗接种依从性。这些发现凸显了在任何NCIS中,时间安排对于提高补种疫苗接种率的重要性。