2008 Vaccination Coverage Survey

Vaccination Coverage Against Meningococcal C and Barriers to Access to Vaccination, Seine-Maritime Department, October 2008–June 2009

This cross-sectional survey was conducted by the InVS in collaboration with the Rouen University Hospital and the Seine-Maritime Departmental Health and Social Affairs Directorate (DDASS). Its primary objective was to measure vaccination coverage with the vaccine against invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) C in the city of Dieppe and the six surrounding municipalities, which are less affected by IMD C than the rest of the department. The survey, which also sought to describe the main reasons for vaccination and non-vaccination, was conducted at vaccination sites using the MenBvac® vaccine, which is used against group B IIM. Children and young adults (ages 1–19) were selected through systematic sampling, and data were collected via a questionnaire. Vaccination coverage with the meningococcal C vaccine was 22.3%. Among unvaccinated children, the main reason for non-vaccination was the lack of discussion of this issue with the primary care physician (52%); the cost of the vaccine was the main reason in 19% of cases. Among vaccinated children, advice from a private practice physician was the main reason for vaccination (80%). Financial difficulties in purchasing the vaccine were experienced by 24% of families. This survey showed that vaccination coverage against meningococcal C was low (particularly in explaining the low incidence of invasive meningococcal C disease in this area), that the role of the primary care physician in the decision to vaccinate a child was essential, and that economic factors were very likely an important factor in the decision to get vaccinated.

Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Healthcare Workers and Residents of Nursing Homes (EPHAD), March

The objective of this survey was to measure influenza vaccination coverage among healthcare professionals and residents of nursing homes. Another objective was to identify determinants of non-vaccination. A questionnaire was sent to the managers of a stratified sample of facilities located in metropolitan France. They were asked to complete it with vaccination data for the staff and residents of the facility under their care. Coverage was 33.6% among healthcare professionals, varying by profession (physicians: 69%, nurses: 46%, nursing assistants: 34%). Coverage was higher in private nursing homes, when vaccination was offered free of charge, in smaller facilities, and when training sessions and informational meetings on the flu were held with staff. Vaccination coverage among residents was 91%. This survey confirmed insufficient flu vaccine coverage among healthcare professionals. The authors recommended improving communication regarding influenza vaccination recommendations to increase staff adherence to these recommendations. They suggested targeting vaccination promotion campaigns at the least vaccinated groups, namely nurses and nursing assistants.

BCG vaccination coverage in private practice: initial data on infants, seven months after the lifting of the vaccination mandate in France, February

Following the suspension of the vaccination mandate and in the absence of appropriate tools to identify early a decline in vaccination coverage among children targeted for vaccination, a survey was conducted among children followed by private practitioners subscribed to the Infovac-France network. This survey, conducted in collaboration with the Association Clinique et Thérapeutique Infantile du Val de Marne (ACTIV), had the primary objective of estimating BCG vaccination coverage in private practice among children targeted by the recommendation who were born after the suspension of the mandatory vaccination requirement. Each physician was asked to include between six and 12 children aged 2 to 23 months seen during consultations. The questionnaire was completed online, and the data were analyzed after sample adjustment. BCG vaccination coverage among children meeting the new vaccination recommendations and followed in private practice was 68% overall. It was 77% among those born between the discontinuation of the multi-puncture BCG vaccine and the suspension of the vaccination requirement, and 58% among children born after the suspension of the vaccination requirement (68% in Île-de-France [IDF], 48% outside IDF). This survey, providing the first data 7 months after the change in vaccination policy, suggested insufficient coverage among children seen in private practice and born after the suspension of the vaccination requirement. These results, although they should be interpreted with caution due to the specific sample of physicians and the methodological limitations inherent in the survey, argued in favor of strengthening communication regarding the new vaccination policy.