Vaccine coverage among children born to immigrant parents in Norway, 2000-2020

Rebecca Nybru Gleditsch; Trine Skogset Ofitserova; Richard Aubrey White; Marte Karoline Råberg Kjøllesdal; Evy Dvergsdal; Bo T Hansen; Brita Askeland Winje

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.03.073

Vaccine coverage among children born to immigrant parents in Norway, 2000-2020

Vaccine. 2024 Apr 30;42(12):3049-3056. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.03.073. Epub 2024 Apr 6.

Authors

Rebecca Nybru Gleditsch¹, Trine Skogset Ofitserova², Richard Aubrey White³, Marte Karoline Råberg Kjøllesdal⁴, Evy Dvergsdal⁵, Bo T Hansen⁶, Brita Askeland Winje⁷

Affiliations

¹ Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 222 Skøyen, N-0213 Oslo, Norway; The Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research, PO Box 2947 Tøyen, N-0608 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: rng@fafo.no.
² Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 222 Skøyen, N-0213 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: trineskogset.ofitserova@fhi.no.
³ Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 222 Skøyen, N-0213 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: richardaubrey.white@fhi.no.
⁴ Norwegian University of Lifesciences, Institute of Public Health Science, PO Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway. Electronic address: marte.k.kjollesdal@nmbu.no.
⁵ Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 222 Skøyen, N-0213 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: evy.dvergsdal@fhi.no.
⁶ Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 222 Skøyen, N-0213 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: boterning.hansen@fhi.no.
⁷ Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 222 Skøyen, N-0213 Oslo, Norway; Oslo Metropolitan University, PO Box 4, St. Olavs plass, N-0130 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: brita.askeland.winje@oslomet.no.

PMID: 38582692
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.03.073

Abstract

Background: The Norwegian Childhood Immunization Program maintains a high national coverage of 95-97% in the most recent years. Whether there are subgroups with lower uptake is less studied. This study examines pertussis and measles vaccination coverage among six immigrant groups in Norway. These vaccines are normally administered as part of different combination vaccines and their coverage rate indicate the national vaccination coverage against a range of additional infections.

Methods: Data from the Norwegian National Population Register were linked at individual level with vaccination data from the Norwegian Immunisation Registry. The final sample consisted of 53,052 children born during 2000-2018 in Norway to parents who were born in Iraq, Lithuania, Pakistan, Poland, Somalia, or Vietnam. Vaccination coverage was measured at 2-years of age. Multivariate linear regression was utilized to estimate the relationship between vaccinations status, year of birth, gender, mother's length of residency in Norway, and area of residence.

Results: At two years of age, the majority of the children were vaccinated. Coverage among the groups varied at, above, and below the national average for the two vaccines. For most of the years examined, children born by parents from Lithuania, Poland, and Somalia had lower coverage for the measles vaccine (range 81-84% in 2020) than the national level (97% in 2020). Children born by parents from the Eastern-European countries also had lower coverage than the national level for the pertussis vaccine (range 87-89% in 2020).

Discussion: This study illustrates how subgroups with lower vaccination coverage may exists within a well-established vaccination program with high national coverages. Differences in coverage were found for both vaccines, but the differences were more pronounced for the measles vaccine. The high vaccination coverage in Norway provides indirect protection through herd immunity for unvaccinated individuals, however, the lower vaccination coverage in some immigrant groups is a concern.

Keywords: Childhood vaccination; Immigrant parents; Immunisation; MMR vaccine; Pertussis vaccine; Vaccine coverage.

MeSH terms

Child
Emigrants and Immigrants*
Humans
Infant
Measles Vaccine
Norway
Parents
Vaccination*

Substances

Measles Vaccine