School immunisation certificates — a review over time in a disadvantaged community

Abstract

Objectives: To compare proportions of kindergarten children in Auburn presenting School Immunisation Certificates (SIC) or other school‐entry immunisation documentation over time, and to examine the immunisation status of these children. Methods: Immunisation records of kindergarten children enrolled in all primary schools in the Auburn local government area were reviewed in 1994 and 1998. Results: Eight hundred and thirty‐three and 737 school entry records of children enrolled in kindergarten were reviewed in 1998 and 1994 respectively. There was no change in the overall proportion of children with immunisation documentation and SICs. Sixty‐nine per cent (571/833) of children had SICs in 1998, compared with 72% (531/737) in 1994. Thirteen per cent of children had other immunisation documentation in 1998, compared with 11 % in 1994. The proportion of invalid certificates fell from 39.2% in 1994 to 12.6% in 1998 (p<0.001). The 1998 survey indicated that 80.2% of children provided a certificate indicating they were completely immunised compared with 56.7% in 1994 (p<0.001). Implications: Although SICs play an important role in promoting the importance of immunisation among parents and in the school community, there continues to be a substantial number of children whose immunisation status is unknown. In the event of an outbreak, an effective public health response may need to incorporate the use of additional objective measures, such as the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register or personal health records.

Measles vaccination coverage among five‐year‐old children: implications for disease elimination in Australia

“…A separate study to evaluate school entry requirements nationally would be useful, as State and regional studies have found problems with their effectiveness. 18,19 Despite many countries having a two-dose MMR schedule, data on the uptake of the second dose and reasons for non-compliance are sparse. 20 In this survey, reasons reported by parents for their child not having received MMR2 indicated that lack of parent and provider awareness of the scheduling of the second dose was the main f actor.…”

Validity of Measles Immunization Certificates Submitted upon Enrollment in an Elementary School in Korea

“…The purpose of legislation requiring measles vaccination certificates to enroll children in an elementary school is to prevent and eliminate measles by enhancing the rate of booster vaccination. Many studies showed that the submission of vaccination certificate decreases the rate of outbreak of infectious diseases such as measles and mumps [11,12], and that the law requiring the submission of vaccination certificate enhanced the rate of measles booster vaccinations [13][14][15]. In the U.S., only 28 states and territories had laws for measles immunization by 1972 but by fall 2001, almost all (53 [98%] of 54) states and territories required a second dose of the measles vaccination upon students entry to school, at either the elementary school level, the middle school level, or both [16].…”