Coverage rates of the children vaccination programme in Greenland

Abstract

In order to estimate the current coverage rate among all children in Greenland, we conducted an observational cross-sectional study identifying all children in Greenland eligible for a vaccination between 1 March 2018 and 16 June 2019. we found an overall national coverage of 85.4%. The national coverage for the vaccinations given at birth was 97.1%, dropping to 94.3%, 87.7% and 83.6% at ages 3, 5 and 12 months. Among children eligible for the Measles, Mumps and Rubella-vaccinations, the national coverage was 76.9% for children aged 15 months and 64.1% for children aged 4 years, but dropping to 40.9% in the districts. At preschool, the national coverage was 79.9%. Among the 12-year-old, the national coverages of the two vaccinations against Human Papilloma Virus were 88.4% and 71.6%, respectively, and for the three Hepatitis B-vaccinations 89.8%, 84.1% and 69.6%. A subgroup-analysis and test of an SMS-reminder system in Nuuk improved the coverage from 57.8% to 75.5% locally. Overall, we found a high national coverage rate among the newborn in Greenland. The national coverage rates of the remaining vaccinations were below the WHO-recommendations, however with great regional differences.

Acute otitis media and pneumococcal vaccination – an observational cross-sectional study of otitis media among vaccinated and unvaccinated children in Greenland

“…Potential differences in the socio-economic status of people living in the capital Nuuk and people living in towns and settlements may have contributed to our findings. Our study showed large regional differences in vaccine coverage, with the health region containing the capital, Nuuk, as having one of the lowest coverages[ 22 ]. Besides having a low vaccine coverage Nuuk also has better living conditions than the settlements[ 27 ].…”

“…In 2010 the PCV13 became the first pneumococcal vaccine implemented in the vaccination programme [20,21]. In a very recent study by Albertsen et al the overall vaccine coverage for the childhood vaccination programme was close to WHO recommendations [22]. However, not all are timely vaccinated or vaccinated at all.…”

Effectiveness of the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine on Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Greenland

“…Greenland is divided into five healthcare regions with a regional hospital located in the main town of the region. There are healthcare centers in the remaining towns of the region, and healthcare stations and rural healthcare consultations in the settlements [16,17,29]. The Queen Ingrid's Hospital (QIH) in Nuuk is the national referral hospital for all of Greenland [31].…”

“…Greenland has a publicly financed healthcare system, which means that all vaccinations in the CVP are given free of charge to all with a permanent address in Greenland [16,17].…”

“…The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevnar 13®(PCV-13; Pfizer, USA) against 13 S. pneumoniae serotypes was the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to be integrated into the childhood vaccination program (CVP) in Greenland [15]. The PCV13 was introduced on the 1st of September 2010, and since then, it has been administered to children at 3 months, 5 months, and with a booster at 12 months of age, along with diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, and hepatitis B vaccines [16,17].…”