Publish Date: December 2014
Author: Asnakew Tsega, Fussum Daniel, Robert Steinglass
This MCSP co-authored article in the journal Vaccine highlights a mini-survey conducted to assess the status of monitoring coverage of fully immunized children (FIC) in Eastern and Southern African countries. The authors designed and distributed a structured self-administered questionnaire to all 19 national program managers attending a meeting in March 2014 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Responses indicated that most countries already monitor FIC coverage and managers appreciate the importance of this monitoring as a national indicator, as it aligns with the full benefits of immunization. The mini-survey concluded that, at national level, FIC coverage could be used as a principal indicator. However, at global level, DPT3 has additional advantages across all countries in standardizing the capacity of the immunization program to deliver multiple doses of the same vaccine to all children by 12 months of age.
To read the full article, which is available for a fee, click here.
