Immunisation rates among children in Nuuk

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Nadja Albertsen, Ivalu Meincke Fencker, Heidi Egede Noasen, Michael Lynge Pedersen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2018
• Subjects: Vaccinations; immunisations; Arctic; WHO; Measles; Greenland; infectious diseases; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Nuuk; Calmette; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2018.1426948; https://doaj.org/article/5b164f9b42004ac1bfe34dffc256948a

The children immunisation programme in Greenland correlates to the one in Denmark with the addition of the Bacille Calmette–Guerin (BCG)-vaccine and the immunisation against Hepatitis B (HBV). The immunisation rate among children in Greenland has been and is currently unknown and this study aims to estimate the immunisation rates among children in Nuuk from 1 July 2015 until 30 June 2016. We did an observational cross-sectional study based on a statistical extraction identifying all children in Nuuk eligible for an immunization in the children immunisation programme from 1 July 2015 until 30 June 2016 and a review of their medical records. We found acceptable coverage rates among children younger than 12 months, but coverage rates lower than recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) among older children. Among children between 15 months and 4 years the coverage dropped as low as 33.9 %. Increased awareness of child immunisation rates is suggested including continuously monitoring and adjusting of the organisation of the immunisation programme. Abbreviations: Bacille Calmette–Guerin immunisation (BCG); Chief Medical Officer (CMO); Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Haemophilus influenza B, Pneumococcal (DTP); Electronic medical report (EMR); Hepatitis B (HBV); Human Papilloma Virus (HPV); Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR); World Health Organization (WHO)