Research Article: Association of vaccine stockout with immunisation coverage in low-income and middle-income countries: a retrospective cohort study
Abstract:
Objectives This study investigated the association between vaccine stockout and immunisation coverage, and infant/under 5 mortality rates. Design A retrospective cohort study. Setting Low-income and middle-income countries. Participants A cohort of 131 low-income and middle-income countries from 2004 to 2019. Primary outcome measures Main outcomes included immunisation coverages of (1) diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis containing vaccine (DTP), (2) measles containing vaccine (MCV), (3) BCG and (4) oral polio vaccine (OPV). We also included infant and under 5 mortality rates as secondary outcomes. Results The countries that experienced national-level stockouts of DTP and MCV had 3.7 and 4?percentage points lower coverage rates of DTP3 and MCV1, respectively, compared with the countries without the stockout events (p<0.01). Moreover, the statistically significant differences in the immunisation coverage rates across the countries with and without the stockout events are 2.4?percentage points and 2.6?percentage points for BCG and OPV, respectively (p<0.01). Conclusion Our findings show that the incidence of vaccine stockout events is associated with the decreased immunisation coverages for children in low-income and middle-income countries. However, we did not observe a statistically significant association between the increasing frequency of vaccine stockout and infant and under 5 mortality rates.
Introduction:
Infant vaccination is one of the most significant and cost-effective public health intervention programmes available. 1 2 A remarkable number of vaccine-preventable deaths have been averted in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) through vaccination programmes. According to a recent modelling study, the lives of 36?million children under 5 in LMICs were saved due to vaccination over the last 20 years. 3 However, the disease burden caused by vaccine-preventable illnesses still remains substantial in…
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