Open AccessEstimation of measles vaccination coverage and longer‐term vaccine efficacy in a Queensland State High School during the 1993–94 measles epidemic
Author(s) -
Srirajalingam Mekala,
Sheridan John
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-842x.1998.tb01495.x
Subject(s) - measles , vaccination , medicine , measles vaccine , medical record , pediatrics , demography , environmental health , immunology , surgery , sociology
The parents of 470 students randomly selected from 1321 students attending a state high school were surveyed during the 1993–94 measles epidemic, by means of a take‐home questionnaire. The response rate was 87%. Thirty stated that their child had measles during this epidemic; nine of these 30 gave a history of previous vaccination. Overall, 312 of the 470 (76%) stated that their child had been vaccinated, but only 34% indicated that they had vaccination records. There were no measles cases during this epidemic in the group with records. Those not vaccinated were at 10 times increased risk of contracting measles compared to those who had been vaccinated with or without records. Vaccine efficacy estimated in general a decade after vaccination based on parental recall of vaccination status regardless of whether they had vaccination records or not was 91% (95% CI 80%‐96%). This calculation excluded 123 who claimed to have had measles prior to 1993 and 30 uncertain of their vaccination status.