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Brynley P Hull for the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases
Introduction
Tables 1, 2 and 3 provide the latest quarterly report on childhood immunisation coverage from the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR).
The data show the percentage of children ‘fully immunised’ at 12 months, 24 months and 60 months, for 3-month birth cohorts of children at the stated ages between 1 April to 30 June 2013. ‘Fully immunised’ refers to vaccines on the National Immunisation Program Schedule, but excludes rotavirus, pneumococcal conjugate, varicella, and meningococcal C conjugate vaccines, and is outlined in more detail below.
‘Fully immunised’ at 12 months of age is defined as a child having a record on the ACIR of 3 doses of a diphtheria (D), tetanus (T) and pertussis-containing (P) vaccine, 3 doses of polio vaccine, 2 or 3 doses of PRP-OMP containing Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine or 3 doses of any other Hib vaccine, and 2 or 3 doses of Comvax hepatitis B vaccine or 3 doses of all other hepatitis B vaccines. ‘Fully immunised’ at 24 months of age is defined as a child having a record on the ACIR of 3 or 4 doses of a DTP-containing vaccine, 3 doses of polio vaccine, 3 or 4 doses of PRP-OMP Hib vaccine or 4 doses of any other Hib vaccine, 3 or 4 doses of Comvax hepatitis B vaccine or 4 doses of all other hepatitis B vaccines, and 1 dose of a measles, mumps and rubella-containing (MMR) vaccine. ‘Fully immunised’ at 60 months of age is defined as a child having a record on the ACIR of 4 or 5 doses of a DTP-containing vaccine, 4 doses of polio vaccine, and 2 doses of an MMR-containing vaccine.
A full description of the basic methodology used can be found in Commun Dis Intell 1998;22(3):36–37.
The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (NCIRS) provides commentary on the trends in ACIR data. For further information please contact NCIRS at: telephone +61 2 9845 1435, email: brynley.hull AT health.nsw.gov.au
Results
The percentage of children ‘fully immunised’ by 12 months of age for Australia increased from the previous quarter by 0.5 of a percentage point to 90.9% (Table 1). Except for the Australian Capital Territory, all jurisdictions experienced small increases in coverage for all individual vaccines due at 12 months of age, ranging from 0.1 of a percentage point to 1.2 percentage points.
| Vaccine | ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas. | Vic. | WA | Aust. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total number of children |
1,311 |
25,142 |
1,035 |
16,026 |
4,981 |
1,451 |
18,588 |
8,473 |
77,007 |
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (%) |
93.5 |
90.8 |
92.9 |
91.9 |
91.9 |
91.8 |
92.0 |
91.6 |
91.6 |
Poliomyelitis (%) |
93.4 |
90.6 |
92.9 |
91.9 |
91.8 |
91.8 |
92.0 |
91.6 |
91.5 |
Haemophilus influenzae type b (%) |
93.2 |
90.3 |
92.6 |
91.7 |
91.6 |
91.8 |
91.7 |
91.3 |
91.2 |
Hepatitis B (%) |
93.1 |
90.3 |
92.6 |
91.6 |
91.4 |
91.7 |
91.6 |
90.9 |
91.1 |
Fully immunised (%) |
92.7 |
90.0 |
92.4 |
91.5 |
91.2 |
91.6 |
91.3 |
90.7 |
90.9 |
Change in fully immunised since last quarter (%) |
-0.7 |
+0.3 |
+1.0 |
+0.1 |
+1.0 |
+0.6 |
+0.8 |
+0.9 |
+0.5 |
The percentage of children ‘fully immunised’ by 24 months of age for Australia increased marginally from the previous quarter by 0.2 of a percentage point to 92.3% (Table 2). There were no important changes in coverage for any individual vaccines due at 24 months of age or by jurisdiction.
| * The 12 months age data for this cohort were published in Commun Dis Intell 2013;37(4):E143. | |||||||||
| Vaccine | ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas. | Vic. | WA | Aust. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total number of children |
1,340 |
24,945 |
1,001 |
16,066 |
4,925 |
1,529 |
18,028 |
8,404 |
76,238 |
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (%) |
94.9 |
94.7 |
96.6 |
94.9 |
94.7 |
95.7 |
95.4 |
94.1 |
94.9 |
Poliomyelitis (%) |
94.9 |
94.6 |
96.6 |
94.9 |
94.7 |
95.7 |
95.4 |
94.1 |
94.9 |
Haemophilus influenzae type b (%) |
94.0 |
93.4 |
95.8 |
93.9 |
93.5 |
94.6 |
94.1 |
92.8 |
93.7 |
Measles, mumps, rubella (%) |
94.1 |
93.4 |
96.0 |
94.1 |
93.8 |
94.6 |
94.2 |
93.2 |
93.8 |
Hepatitis B (%) |
94.0 |
94.2 |
96.3 |
94.5 |
94.4 |
95.4 |
94.9 |
93.2 |
94.4 |
Fully immunised (%) |
92.1 |
91.8 |
94.9 |
92.9 |
92.3 |
93.6 |
92.9 |
91.1 |
92.3 |
Change in fully immunised since last quarter (%) |
-1.2 |
-0.1 |
+1.8 |
+0.6 |
-0.4 |
-0.6 |
+0.2 |
+0.6 |
+0.2 |
The percentage of children ‘fully immunised’ by 60 months of age for Australia increased marginally from the previous quarter by 0.3 of a percentage point to 92.1% (Table 3). This maintains the improvement in coverage for this age milestone. There were no important changes in coverage for any individual vaccines due at 60 months of age or by jurisdiction.
| Vaccine | ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas. | Vic. | WA | Aust. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total number of children |
1,237 |
24,296 |
900 |
16,351 |
4,938 |
1,592 |
17,970 |
8,484 |
75,768 |
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (%) |
93.8 |
92.8 |
90.6 |
92.5 |
92.2 |
93.8 |
93.3 |
90.7 |
92.6 |
Poliomyelitis (%) |
93.5 |
92.7 |
90.4 |
92.5 |
92.2 |
93.7 |
93.3 |
90.7 |
92.5 |
Measles, mumps, rubella (%) |
93.5 |
92.6 |
90.9 |
92.5 |
92.2 |
93.8 |
93.1 |
90.8 |
92.5 |
Fully immunised (%) |
93.0 |
92.3 |
90.4 |
92.1 |
91.9 |
93.2 |
92.8 |
90.3 |
92.1 |
Change in fully immunised since last quarter (%) |
+1.8 |
+0.1 |
-0.8 |
+0.6 |
+0.3 |
-0.4 |
+0.4 |
+0.6 |
+0.3 |
The Figure shows the trends in vaccination coverage from the first ACIR-derived published coverage estimates in 1997 to the current estimates. There is a clear trend of increasing vaccination coverage over time for children aged 12 months, 24 months and 60 months (from December 2007). Coverage at 24 months is still higher than coverage at 12 months of age.
Figure: Trends in vaccination coverage, Australia, 1997 to 30 June 2013, by age cohorts
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