Background: Completion of the full series of childhood vaccines on-time is crucial to ensuring greater protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.Aim: To examine determinants of complete and on-time vaccination and evaluate the relationship between vaccination patterns and severe morbidity outcomes.Subjects and methods: Vaccination information from infants in Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System was used to evaluate full and on-time vaccination coverage of routine immunisation. Logistic regression was used to identify determinants of full and on-time vaccination coverage. Cox regression model was used to evaluate the relationship between vaccination status and subsequent severe morbidity. A shared frailty cox model was fitted to account for the heterogeneity in hospitalisation episodes.Results: Maternal age, post-natal care, parity, ethnicity, and residence place were identified as determinants of vaccination completion. Institutional deliveries and residence place were identified as the determinants of on-time vaccination. A significant 58% (confidence interval [CI]: 15-79%) (p = .017) lower mortality was observed among fully immunised children compared with not fully immunised. Lower mortality was observed among on-time immunised children, 64% (CI: 20-84%) compared to those with delays.Conclusions: Improving vaccination timeliness and completion schedule is critical for protection against vaccine preventable diseases and may potentially provide protection beyond these targets.
Keywords: Health and Demographic Surveillance System; childhood mortality; fully immunised child; longitudinal study; non-specific effects of vaccines; urban slums Kenya; vaccination delays.