What do we know about 7vpcv coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children? A 2007 update

Abstract

Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) became largely preventable in Australian children less than 2 years of age for the first time with the approval of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in December 2000, which targeted the 7 most common IPD serotypes in non-Indigenous children. However, these 7 serotypes were responsible for a substantially lower proportion of IPD among Indigenous children in central and northern Australia who have the highest incidence of IPD.^1–3 In June 2001, a publicly funded 7 valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vPCV) program commenced for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other high risk children aged under 2 years and since May 2001, 7vPCV vaccination encounters have been recorded on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR). On 1 January 2005, the publicly funded program was expanded to include all Australian children under 2 years of age. In 2004, an initial evaluation of 7vPCV coverage among Indigenous children from ACIR data showed that estimated 7vPCV coverage increased over time but was still less than 50% for all jurisdictions except the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia. Importantly, since this time, the completeness of recording of Indigenous status has improved.⁴

The aim of this study was to evaluate trends in 7vPCV coverage in Indigenous children by jurisdiction since the introduction of universal pneumococcal conjugate vaccination and compare this to 'fully immunised' (not including 7vPCV) coverage for the same children.