Objectives: To measure vaccine coverage among adolescents aged 16-18 years who participated in the National Defense Preparation Day in the Aquitaine region using the free electronic immunization record.
Patients and methods: We considered adolescents aged 16-18 years who participated in the National Defense Preparation Day in the Aquitaine region from April to October 2013. All participants received a letter explaining how to create an electronic immunization record. Those records were then validated by checking data against the copies of the vaccination cards brought by participants on the day they attended. Vaccination coverage was estimated for eight vaccinations according to the cumulative number of doses registered and vaccines recommended during childhood.
Results: Among the 18,714 participants, 9636 agreed to create an electronic immunization record of which 2781 were validated. Vaccination coverage was˃90% for tuberculosis, diphtheria-tetanus-poliomyelitis, measles-mumps-rubella, and Haemophilus influenzae type B, and˂90% for pertussis, hepatitis B, meningococcal C disease, and human papillomavirus. These coverage rates were close to those reported in other available sources.
Conclusion: Our study calls attention to the insufficient vaccination of adolescents for pertussis, HBV, meningococcal C disease, and HPV. The absence of a system that routinely provides the vaccination status of this population is a major public health issue in France. The use of an electronic immunization record was innovative, but this tool is not extensively used in the general population and has been evaluated by Santé publique France (the French national public health agency).
Keywords: Adolescents; Carnet de vaccination électronique; Couverture vaccinale; Electronic immunization record; Vaccination coverage.
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