1. Challenges in assessing the immunization status of adults in Germany—lessons from a population-based VACCELERATE survey on polio vaccination.
- Author
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Nacov, Julia A., Stemler, Jannik, Salmanton-García, Jon, Cremer, Louise M., Zeitlinger, Markus, Mallon, Patrick W. G., Pana, Zoi Dorothea, Schmitt, Heinz-Josef, and Cornely, Oliver A.
- Subjects
POLIO prevention ,GERMANS ,MEDICAL protocols ,IMMUNIZATION ,RESEARCH funding ,INFECTION control ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,MULTIPLE regression analysis ,SEX distribution ,HYPERTENSION ,AGE distribution ,PANDEMIC preparedness ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,MULTIVARIATE analysis ,HIV infections ,VACCINATION coverage ,SURVEYS ,CHRONIC diseases ,STATISTICS ,POLIOMYELITIS vaccines ,PUBLIC health ,DATA analysis software ,VACCINATION status ,REGRESSION analysis ,DIABETES ,TIME ,ADULTS - Abstract
Purpose: Considering the re-emergence of poliomyelitis (PM) in non-endemic regions, it becomes apparent that vaccine preventable diseases can rapidly develop epi- or even pandemic potential. Evaluation of the current vaccination status is required to inform patients, health care providers and policy makers about vaccination gaps. Methods: Between October 28 2022 and November 23 2022, 5,989 adults from the VACCELEREATE Volunteer Registry completed an electronic case report form on their previous PM vaccine doses including number, types/-valencies and the time of administration based on their vaccination records. A uni-/multivariable regression analysis was performed to assess associations in participant characteristics and immunization status. Results: Among German volunteers (n = 5,449), complete PM immunization schedule was found in 1,981 (36%) participants. Uncertain immunization, due to unknown previous PM vaccination (n = 313, 6%), number of doses (n = 497, 9%), types/-valencies (n = 1,233, 23%) or incoherent immunization schedule (n = 149, 3%) was found in 40% (n = 2,192). Out of 1,276 (23%) participants who reported an incomplete immunization schedule, 62 (1%) never received any PM vaccine. A total of 5,074 (93%) volunteers reported having been vaccinated at least once and 2,087 (38%) indicated that they received vaccination within the last ten years. Female sex, younger age, as well as availability of first vaccination record were characteristics significantly associated with complete immunization (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Full PM immunization schedule was low and status frequently classified as uncertain due to lack of details on administered doses. There is an obviousneed for improved recording to enable long-term access to detailed vaccination history in the absence of a centralized immunization register. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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