Incidência de erros de imunização em Minas Gerais: estudo transversal, 2015-2019 / La incidencia de los errores de inmunización en Minas Gerais, Brasil: estudio transversal, 2015-2019 / Incidence of immunization errors in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil: a cross-sectional study, 2015-2019

Objetivo: Avaliar a incidência do erro de imunização no serviço público de saúde do estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Métodos: Estudo transversal, a partir dos erros notificados no Sistema de Informação do Programa Nacional de Imunização entre 2015 e 2019. Realizaram-se análise descritiva e cálculo da incidência para as macrorregiões de saúde do estado. Resultados: Foram analisadas 3.829 notificações. Crianças menores de 1 ano foram as mais acometidas (39,1%) e a via intramuscular foi responsável por 29,4% dos erros. O erro mais frequente foi a administração de vacina fora da idade recomendada (37,7%). Observou-se maior incidência de erros nas macrorregiões Vale do Aço (26,5/100 mil) e Triângulo do Norte (22,6/100 mil). Conclusão: Os erros de imunização apresentaram incidência heterogênea entre as macrorregiões de Minas Gerais, no período 2015-2019, e a administração de vacinas fora da idade recomendada foi o erro mais notificado.

Objetivo: Evaluar la incidencia de errores de inmunización en el servicio público de salud del estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Métodos: Estudio transversal basado en errores notificados en el Sistema de Información del Programa Nacional de Vacunación entre 2015 y 2019. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo y cálculo de la incidencia para las macrorregiones de salud del estado. Resultados: Se analizaron un total de 3.829 notificaciones. Los niños menores de 1 año fueron los más afectados (39,1%) y la vía intramuscular fue responsable del 29,4% de los errores. El error más frecuente fue la administración de la vacuna fuera de la edad recomendada (37,7%). Se observó una mayor incidencia en las macrorregiones Vale do Aço (26,5/100.000) y Triângulo do Norte (22,6/100.000). Conclusión: Los errores de inmunización mostraron una incidencia heterogénea entre las macrorregiones del estado de Minas Gerais de 2015 a 2019 y la administración de vacunas fuera de la edad recomendada fue el error más reportado.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of immunization errors in the public health service of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, based on errors reported on the National Immunization Program Information System between 2015 and 2019. A descriptive analysis and calculation of the incidence for the state's health macro-regions were performed. Results: A total of 3,829 notifications were analyzed. Children younger than 1 year old were the most affected (39.1%) and the intramuscular route accounted for 29.4% of the errors. The most frequently reported error was administration of vaccines outside minimum and maximum recommended ages (37.7%). There was a higher incidence of errors in Vale do Aço (26.5/100,000) and Triângulo do Norte (22.6/100,000) macro-regions. Conclusion: Immunization errors showed a heterogeneous incidence among the macro-regions of the state of Minas Gerais, between 2015-2019, and the administration of vaccines outside minimum and maximum recommended ages was the most frequently reported error.

Overview of the United States' Immunization Program.

This manuscript describes the history, background, and current structure of the United States Immunization Program, founded upon public- and private-sector partnerships that include federal agencies, state and local health departments, tribal nations and organizations, healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, pharmacies, and a multitude of additional stakeholders. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sets the U.S. adult and childhood immunization schedules based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. We review the current immunization schedules; describe the set of surveillance and other systems used to monitor the health impact, coverage levels, and safety of recommended vaccines; and note significant challenges. Vaccines have reduced the incidence of many diseases to historic lows in the US, and have potential to further reduce the burden of respiratory and other infectious diseases in the United States. Though the United States vaccination program has had notable successes in reducing morbidity and mortality from infectious disease, challenges-including disparities in access and vaccine hesitancy-remain. Supporting access to and confidence in vaccines as an essential public health intervention will not only protect individuals from vaccine-preventable diseases; it will also ensure the country is prepared for the next pandemic.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of an intervention project engaging Traditional and Religious Leaders to improve uptake of childhood immunization in southern Nigeria.

Vaccination is a cost-effective public health intervention, yet evidence abounds that vaccination uptake is still poor in many low- and middle-income countries. Traditional and Religious Leaders play a substantial role in improving the uptake of health services such as immunization. However, there is paucity of evidence on the cost-effectiveness of using such strategies. This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of using a multi-faceted intervention that included traditional and religious leaders for community engagement to improve uptake of routine immunisation services in communities in Cross River State, Southern Nigeria. The target population for the intervention was traditional and religious leaders in randomly selected communities in Cross River State. The impact of the intervention on the uptake of routine vaccination among children 0 to 23 months was assessed using a cluster randomized trials. Outcome assessments were performed at the end of the project (36 months).The cost of the intervention was obtained from the accounting records for expenditures incurred in the course of implementing the intervention. Costs were assessed from the health provider perspective. The cost-effectiveness analysis showed that the incremental cost of the initial implementation of the intervention was US$19,357and that the incremental effect was 323 measles cases averted, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of US$60/measles case averted. However, for subsequent scale-up of the interventions to new areas not requiring a repeat expenditure of some of the initial capital expenditure the ICER was estimated to be US$34 per measles case averted. Involving the traditional and religious leaders in vaccination is a cost-effective strategy for improving the uptake of childhood routine vaccinations.

Addressing vaccine hesitancy and access barriers to achieve persistent progress in Israel's COVID-19 vaccination program.

As of March 31, 2021, Israel had administered 116 doses of vaccine for COVID-19 per 100 population (of any age) - far more than any other OECD country. It was also ahead of other OECD countries in terms of the share of the population that had received at least one vaccination (61%) and the share that had been fully vaccinated (55%). Among Israelis aged 16 and over, the comparable figures were 81 and 74%, respectively. In light of this, the objectives of this article are: 1. To describe and analyze the vaccination uptake through the end of March 2021 2. To identify behavioral and other barriers that likely affected desire or ability to be vaccinated 3. To describe the efforts undertaken to overcome those barriers Israel's vaccination campaign was launched on December 20, and within 2.5 weeks, 20% of Israelis had received their first dose. Afterwards, the pace slowed. It took an additional 4 weeks to increase from 20 to 40% and yet another 6 weeks to increase from 40 to 60%. Initially, uptake was low among young adults, and two religious/cultural minority groups - ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli Arabs, but their uptake increased markedly over time.In the first quarter of 2021, Israel had to enhance access to the vaccine, address a moderate amount of vaccine hesitancy in its general population, and also address more intense pockets of vaccine hesitancy among young adults and religious/cultural minority groups. A continued high rate of infection during the months of February and March, despite broad vaccination coverage at the time, created confusion about vaccine effectiveness, which in turn contributed to vaccine hesitancy. Among Israeli Arabs, some residents of smaller villages encountered difficulties in reaching vaccination sites, and that also slowed the rate of vaccination.The challenges were addressed via a mix of messaging, incentives, extensions to the initial vaccine delivery system, and other measures. Many of the measures addressed the general population, while others were targeted at subgroups with below-average vaccination rates. Once the early adopters had been vaccinated, it took hard, creative work to increase population coverage from 40 to 60% and beyond.Significantly, some of the capacities and strategies that helped Israel address vaccine hesitancy and geographic access barriers are different from those that enabled it to procure, distribute and administer the vaccines. Some of these strategies are likely to be relevant to other countries as they progress from the challenges of securing an adequate vaccine supply and streamlining distribution to the challenge of encouraging vaccine uptake.

The Role of a Resilient Information Infrastructure in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in Ontario.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a robust and nimble public health data infrastructure. ICES - a government-sponsored, independent, non-profit research institute in Ontario, Canada - functions as a key component of a resilient information infrastructure and an enabler of data co-production, contributing to Ontario's response to the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a learning health system. Linked data on the cumulative incidence of infection and vaccination at the neighbourhood level revealed disparate uptake between areas with low versus high risk of COVID-19. These data were leveraged by the government, service providers, media and the public to inform a more efficient and equitable vaccination strategy.

A Quality Improvement Project to Improve Influenza Vaccination Rates Among Employees at an Onsite Employer-Based Health Clinic.

BACKGROUND: In the United States, millions of people contract the flu each year. Immunization has been shown to provide the best protection against the flu. Increasing flu vaccination rates can reduce the number of patients who get the flu and seek care for non-specific symptoms thus making detection of the coronavirus more efficient. METHOD: A quality improvement project was implemented to increase the number of influenza vaccines received by employees at an onsite employer-based health clinic. Anonymous pre- and post-surveys were used to assess the flu knowledge of employees. Employees from a large financial group, who voluntarily participated, received an educational handout at the onsite health fair or at a lunch and learn. Full-time employees who carried their employer's health insurance were eligible to participate, whereas, dependents and contract employees were excluded. FINDINGS: The number of employees who received the vaccination increased during the fall of 2019 (n = 406) when compared with the previous year (n = 337). Nineteen percent (n = 170) of employees completed surveys. There were statistically significantly more post- than pre-survey responses reflecting the participants' perceived knowledge of influenza and the flu vaccine. The majority of participants in both the pre- and post-surveys reported that they learned "a lot" about both influenza and the flu vaccine. CONCLUSION: Providing education and access to the vaccine in the workplace may improve flu knowledge, reduce barriers, and increase flu vaccine uptake among employees.

A COVID-19 Vaccination Challenge.

Increasing trust in Black communities is crucial.

A pneumococcal pneumonia and influenza vaccination quality improvement program for women receiving chemotherapy for gynecologic cancers at a major tertiary cancer Centre.

OBJECTIVE: International guidelines recommend pneumococcal pneumonia and influenza vaccination for all patients with solid organ malignancies prior to initiating chemotherapy. Baseline vaccination rates (March 2019) for pneumococcal pneumonia and influenza at our tertiary cancer centre were 8% and 40%, respectively. The aim of this study was to increase the number of gynecologic chemotherapy patients receiving pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations to 80% by March 2020. METHODS: We performed an interrupted time series study using structured quality improvement methodology. Three interventions were introduced to address vaccination barriers: an in-house vaccination program, a staff education campaign, and a patient care bundle (pre-printed prescription, information brochure, vaccine record booklet). Process and outcome data were collected by patient survey and pharmacy audit and analyzed on statistical process control charts. RESULTS: We identified 195 eligible patients. Pneumococcal and influenza vaccination rates rose significantly from 5% to a monthly mean of 61% and from 36% to a monthly mean of 67%, respectively. The 80% target was reached for both vaccines during one or more months of study. The in-house vaccination and staff education programs were major contributors to the improvement, whereas the information brochure and record booklet were minor contributors. CONCLUSIONS: Three interventions to promote pneumococcal and influenza vaccination among chemotherapy patients resulted in significantly improved vaccination rates. Lessons learned about promoting vaccine uptake may be generalizable to different populations and vaccine types. In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, initiatives to expand the program to all chemotherapy patients at our centre are underway.

COVID- 19 Vaccination: Potential Challenges and Reforms.

Minority groups continue to suffer disproportionately from COVID-19's impact, with Blacks and Hispanics three times more likely to die from the disease than their White counterparts. The COVID-19 vaccine roll out has the potential to provide relief to these most adversely impacted communities. However, historic mistrust within racial minority communities threatens to derail the effective implementation of a vaccination program. The origin of this mistrust is multifactorial. Current day experience with structural racism and research abuses like Tuskegee Study collectively influence our perception of biased healthcare system. We outline issues and propose solutions that must be addressed to achieve a successful vaccination agenda. Mishandling of public expectations at any point may lead to an avalanche of vaccine opposition which might be unrecoverable.