Pharmacy Daily | Vax coverage falls in Aussie children

VACCINATION coverage in children has been declining since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest data from The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) has shown.

The new Annual Immunisation Coverage Report 2022, which analysed the impacts of the pandemic on vaccination coverage in children, adolescents and adults across Australia, found that fully vaccinated coverage among children declined between 2021 and 2022 across all three standard age assessment milestones.

"This represents the first comprehensive stocktake of the ongoing impact of the pandemic on vaccination coverage in Australia," NCIRS A/Prof and A/ Director, Surveillance, Coverage, Evaluation and Social Science, Frank Beard, explained.

"Importantly, it highlights a concerning downward trend in fully vaccinated coverage in children."

According to the NCIRS report, decreases in fully vaccinated coverage were greater in Indigenous children than in children overall.

"The larger decreases in vaccination coverage among Indigenous children, particularly those in remote areas, highlight the need to improve on-time vaccination," Beard added.

The study also highlights new research from the World Health Organization and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which showed that millions of children missed MMR vaccinations during the pandemic, leading to an 18% rise in measles cases and a 43% increase in measles-related deaths globally in 2022 compared to 2021.

While there were no cases of measles in Australia in 2021, there have been seven and 24 confirmed cases in 2022 and 2023, respectively, which were linked to large overseas outbreaks and a return of international travel.

Missed or delayed vaccinations are also an ongoing issue that has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report, especially in remote areas with a high Indigenous population.

NCIRS said further investigation is needed to better understand barriers to vaccine uptake, which it said is likely due to a lack of access to vaccination services as well as vaccine hesitancy.

See the full report here. JM