Vaccination coverage in children aged 12 to 23 months: a Survey study

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the immunization coverage in children from12 to 23 months of age resident in the municipality of Sarandi/PR-Brazil. For that a household interview survey was carried out to verify the vaccine cards of the resident children.  Home visits were accomplished from December of 2003 to March of 2004. The vaccine coverage was analyzed according to gender, age, vaccine type and city of vaccination. Of the 740 vaccine cards assessed, 77.6% had the complete vaccine doses, with no difference regarding gender. The highest coverage was 99.6% for BCG, 98% for DTP/Tetra, 97.2% for Polio, 96.2% for Hepatitis B. Only 31.1% of children aged 12 months old had the complete vaccine coverage. The BCG and DTP/Tetra vaccines had the greatest rate of evasion, 13.9% and 11%, respectively. Among the strategies to improve the vaccine coverage rates and the taking of vaccines in the standardized dates established by the Health department, it is worth mentioning the improvement of the access and the quality of the attendance in the vaccine rooms.