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Immunization status and demographic characteristics of New Zealand infants in the first 6 months of life
Author(s) -
ESSEX C.,
COUNSELL A. M.,
GEDDIS D. C.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1993.tb00539.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pediatrics , immunization , contraindication , cohort , breastfeeding , demography , immunology , alternative medicine , antibody , pathology , sociology
In the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society's 1990‐91 cohort study, of 3902 children, 985 (25.2%) had fallen behind the immunization schedule by 6 months of age. These children were more likely to be from lower socio‐economic groups or to have mothers who were older, with high or low education, or of higher parity. The infants were also more likely to be from non‐European families, or to have unemployed fathers. Eight hundred and ten (82.2%) of the incompletely immunized children at that age could be brought up‐to‐date with their immunizations by a single visit to the doctor. The most common reason for delaying immunization was that the baby was sick. This was a false contraindication in 69.2, 79.0 and 78.4% of these children at the 6 week, 3 month and 5 month immunization, respectively.