Maternal vaccinations coverage and reasons for non-compliance - a cross-sectional observational study.

BACKGROUND: Maternal influenza and pertussis vaccinations have been proven safe and effective in reducing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Though recommended, not all pregnant women receive these important vaccines. We aimed to evaluate the vaccine coverage of maternal immunization in pregnancy for seasonal influenza and acellular pertussis and elucidate the reasons for non-vaccination among pregnant women. The secondary objective was to describe factors that affect vaccine uptake. METHODS: A cross sectional observational study using anonymous questionnaires distributed to women in the maternity ward or pregnant women hospitalized in the high-risk ward, between Nov 2017 and June 2018, In an Israeli tertiary hospital. RESULTS: Of 321 women approached, 313 were eligible, with a total of 290 women completing the questionnaire (92.6%). We found a 75.9% (95% CI 71-81) and 34.5% (95% CI 29-40) vaccination rate for pertussis and influenza vaccines, respectively. The most prominent reason for not receiving the pertussis vaccine was being under-informed (24%). Influenza vaccine was not received mainly due to concerns about vaccine efficacy (28%). Other factors influencing vaccine uptake included education, prior childbirth and vaccine recommendations made by the provider. CONCLUSION: Although maternal vaccination of pertussis and influenza is officially recommended, vaccine uptake is suboptimal. Our study suggests a central role for medical providers in diminishing the concerns about safety and efficacy, and presents novel factors influencing compliance rates, like seasonality and number of prior births.

Orthogonal Directional Transforms using Discrete Directional Laplacian Eigen Solutions for Beyond HEVC Intra Coding.

We introduce new transforms for efficient compression of image blocks with directional preferences. Each transform, which is an orthogonal basis for a specific direction, is constructed from an eigen-decomposition of a discrete directional Laplacian system matrix. The method is a natural extension of the DCT, expressing the Laplacian in Cartesian coordinates rotated to some predetermined angles. Symmetry properties of the transforms over square domains lead to efficient computation and compact storage of the directional transforms. A version of the directional transforms was implemented within the beyond HEVC software and demonstrated significant improvement for intra block coding.