• Yu Hu, Qian Li, Shuying Luo, Linqiao Lou, Xiaohua Qi, and Shuyun Xie.
• Institute of Immunization and Prevention, Zhejiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, P. R. China.
• Plos One. 2013 Jan 1; 8 (8): e73264.

BackgroundThe reported coverage rates of first and second doses of measles containing vaccine (MCV) are almost 95% in China, while measles cases are constantly being reported. This study evaluated the vaccine coverage, timeliness, and barriers to immunization of MCV1 and MCV2 in children aged from 8-48 months.MethodsWe assessed 718 children aged 8-48 months, of which 499 children aged 18-48 months in September 2011. Face to face interviews were administered with children's mothers to estimate MCV1 and MCV2 coverage rate, its timeliness and barriers to vaccine uptake.ResultsThe coverage rates were 76.9% for MCV1 and 44.7% for MCV2 in average. Only 47.5% of surveyed children received the MCV1 timely, which postpone vaccination by up to one month beyond the stipulated age of 8 months. Even if coverage thus improves with time, postponed vaccination adds to the pool of unprotected children in the population. Being unaware of the necessity for vaccination and its schedule, misunderstanding of side-effect of vaccine, and child being sick during the recommended vaccination period were significant preventive factors for both MCV1 and MCV2 vaccination. Having multiple children, mother's education level, household income and children with working mothers were significantly associated with delayed or missing MCV1 immunization.ConclusionsTo avoid future outbreaks, it is crucial to attain high coverage levels by timely vaccination, thus, accurate information should be delivered and a systematic approach should be targeted to high-risk groups.

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