Heterogeneity in coverage for measles and varicella vaccination in toddlers – analysis of factors influencing parental acceptance

Varicella (chickenpox) was one of the most widespread diseases in Germany during the pre-vaccination era, with an estimated incidence of 9.3 per 1000 inhabitants [1‐3]. Annually, it was associated with approximately 2000 hospitalizations and five fatalities in children [4, 5], and societal costs of about 150 million EUR [1]. Routine, publicly funded varicella vaccination was introduced in Germany in 2004 for all children aged 11–14 months. In 2009, administration of a second dose to children aged 15–23 months was recommended [6, 7]. In 2004, two monovalent varicella vaccines were available, initially with a single-dose application schedule. A tetravalent measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine with a two-dose schedule was licensed in Germany already in 2006, but was not regularly used in all parts of Germany before the recommendation of the second varicella dose. This was due to heterogeneous reimbursement regulations in the 16 federal states of Germany before 2009, with seven states (including Bavaria) covering only one-dose varicella vaccination as recommended at that time and, hence, largely excluding the use of two-dose MMRV [8].

Measles is another highly infectious, vaccine-preventable childhood disease with a potentially serious outcome: in the year 2000, an estimated 535,000 children died of measles worldwide [9]. The average costs per measles case in Germany were estimated as 373 EUR per outpatient and 1877 EUR per inpatient, with incidence and hospitalization rates varying widely across years (from <0.1 to 38.9 per 100,000 inhabitants per year and 2%–40%, respectively) [10]. Routine vaccination against measles had already been introduced in Eastern Germany in 1970 and in Western Germany in 1973 [11, 12]. It is routinely administered by using a combined MMR or MMRV vaccine for all children aged 11–14 months, with a second dose at 15–23 months of age. The first dose may be administered at an earlier age (9 months), if necessary due to the epidemiological situation.

Varicella and measles vaccinations are voluntary in Germany and offered to parents free of costs. Vaccination of children is not a routine requirement for attendance at a public child daycare unit or school/university. Only private childcare units can introduce restricted access for unvaccinated children, but the public sector (including schools and universities) can deny admission to unvaccinated children/adolescents only in exceptional cases (e.g. in the case of an outbreak) [13, 14].

The World Health Organization (WHO) initially recommended universal varicella vaccination only for those countries where vaccination rates of at least 85% can be achieved and sustained, as a lower coverage may potentially be associated with a higher risk of complications due to an age shift of varicella infections to higher age groups [15]. This recommendation was replaced in 2014, and varicella vaccination coverage of at least 80% is now endorsed [16]. With regard to measles, vaccination coverage of at least 95% is considered necessary to eliminate the disease, however, this target has still not been reached in all regions of Germany [12, 17‐20].

Routine surveillance of vaccination coverage is not implemented in Germany. Vaccination rates are usually assessed from school entrance health examinations, health claim data or population surveys [21], as well as from practices using a specific electronic vaccination scheduling program [22]. Studies investigating varicella and/or measles vaccination showed substantial differences in coverage rates between the various federal states of Germany [20, 23‐26].

Previous investigations in the region of Munich in the federal state Bavaria had shown that varicella vaccination coverage (first dose) in children 18–36 months of age had increased from 38% in 2006 to 68% in 2011, whereby measles vaccination coverage (first dose) had shown a level of 87% to 91% [27‐29]. However, vaccination rates and associated socio-demographic factors in the predominantly urban, economically-favored Munich region may differ from other Bavarian regions, and the socio-demographic factors that impact upon parental decisions concerning vaccination may differ for varicella and measles vaccination. Hence, the main objective of the present analysis was to compare varicella and measles vaccination rates from Munich with a more rural area, and to investigate determinants of acceptance both for varicella and measles vaccination.

The objective of the present analysis was to compare varicella and measles vaccination rates and factors associated with the acceptance of vaccination in two Bavarian regions based on parent surveys in 2009–2011.

The results in Munich showed an increasing coverage of varicella vaccination – first recommended in 2004 - from 53% in 2009 to 69% in 2011 [29]. In Würzburg, the vaccination coverage increased similarly, but was about 15–20% points higher (72% in 2009, 83% in 2011) than in Munich. Although the varicella vaccination rates increased over the study period, the initial WHO-defined goal of at least 85% varicella vaccination coverage still had not yet been reached in both regions as of 2011.

The vaccination coverage for measles, first recommended in 1970 (Eastern Germany) and in 1973 (Western Germany) [11] was substantially higher than for varicella in both study regions, even though still below the WHO target of 95% vaccination coverage. Nevertheless, during the three-year observation period, the already high measles vaccination rates further increased by 3 % points for the first dose in Munich and in Würzburg. The WHO goal of 95% measles vaccination coverage was reached in Würzburg in 2011, whereas vaccination rates were still below this target in Munich (91% in 2011) in the investigated age group from 18 months up to 3 years.

Nevertheless, school entry health examinations three years later (2014) on children aged about 6 years showed that the initial differences in measles vaccination coverage between both regions observed in the present study had disappeared, with coverage between 97 and 98% in both regions at the time of school entry (for both cities as well as their surrounding districts) [31]. This increase indicates the success of national efforts and campaigns to enhance measles vaccination coverage. However, compliance with the recommended age for vaccination was still considerably delayed and suboptimal in Munich, with the risk of outbreaks in pre-school children. Delayed vaccinations and potential reasons have been discussed by Goffrier et al. (2016) and included lack of time, postponed or cancelled physician appointments [32].

The positive attitude of physicians and other healthcare professionals towards vaccinations – and consequently the recommendation of vaccination - has been shown to be an important determinant of vaccination coverage [27, 33‐36]. In Germany, children of toddler age are usually vaccinated in pediatric practices; thus, pediatricians are the primary persons who can inform and reassure parents with concerns about the meaningfulness and safety of vaccinations [8]. In our study, recommendation of the more recently introduced varicella vaccination by the child’s physician was the only independent factor consistently and significantly associated with a parental decision to vaccinate their child against varicella in Munich [27, 29] and in Würzburg. Interestingly, differences in the strength of the association were seen in the bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models, indicating a stronger compliance of parents towards the recommendation of the physician in Würzburg. Parents in Munich appear to behave more independently of the physician’s opinion, which might be associated with a higher proportion of parents with higher educational level in comparison to the Würzburg area. A more critical attitude towards vaccinations in well-educated parents has been described in some studies [32, 37, 38], while others found no impact or even a positive impact of a high education level on vaccination uptake [36, 38‐40]. Thus, strategies to increase acceptance of varicella vaccination may need to be adapted by country, by region, and according to the educational level of the parents.

Although the rate of varicella vaccination recommendation by the physicians increased in both regions, some of the comments provided by parents on the questionnaire indicated a negative attitude by some physicians, mostly based on missing knowledge regarding varicella vaccination and the strategy implemented by the Standing Committee on Immunization (STIKO) in Germany. Such comments included, for example: “Our physician recommends the varicella vaccination at school entrance”, “Only measles vaccination recommended”, “According to our pediatrician, varicella vaccination increases cases of shingles after vaccination despite the argumentation of the vaccination authorities of preventing them”, “Second varicella vaccination is not necessary”. Lack of knowledge regarding illness/vaccination by the vaccinating physicians themselves and lack of adequate information about vaccination provided for the parents by healthcare professionals had been identified as factors contributing to vaccination hesitancy and low vaccination uptake for other vaccines [35, 36, 40, 41]. The key reason for hesitancy of both physicians and parents was fear of adverse side effects and vaccine safety concerns [35, 40]. It seems essential that the continuing education of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals as the most influential source of vaccination information is further optimized to further increase varicella vaccination rates, as suggested for other vaccines [24, 35, 37, 41]. This can only be achieved by providing continuous education on the objectives, the safety and the efficacy of varicella vaccination, and may be supported by training on physician communication strategies to improve the dialogue with vaccine-hesitant parents [35, 36, 40, 42].

The influence of socio-demographic factors on the acceptance of vaccinations has been investigated in many studies [33, 36, 38‐40, 43]. Interestingly, in our survey conducted during the years 2009 to 2011, attendance at child daycare units strongly influenced the likelihood of both varicella and measles vaccination. In 2008, Germany introduced a new law (Childcare Funding Act; “Kinderförderungsgesetz” [44]), which allowed parents a legal right of access to daycare facilities for their children. The law aimed at increasing the number of the hitherto limited places for children in such facilities, as child daycare is regarded a necessary precondition if both parents wish to take up an employment. Indeed, the new law resulted in an increased availability of these childcare facilities in the years that followed, with a subsequent increase in the proportion of children visiting such facilities [45]. In the Munich surveys, the proportion of children up to 36 months of age attending childcare units increased from 45%–54% in 2006–2008 to 59%–67% in 2009–2011 [27, 29]. This may have contributed indirectly to the increased vaccination coverage rates, as the risk of contracting measles or varicella in this age group is likely to be higher in daycare environments compared to home, and working parents may wish to reduce this risk by vaccination, also to avoid time off work in the event of the child’s disease [46]. Accordingly, varicella vaccination was more often recommended by physicians for children who visited a daycare unit compared to children who did not. Although only private daycare institutions may insist on vaccinations as a precondition for attendance, parents preferring specific public childcare facilities (e.g., close to home or the working place) may be more willing to comply with the vaccination suggestions provided by these facilities to increase the chance for their child being admitted there.

The increase of varicella vaccination rates was probably also influenced by the more widespread use of the combined MMRV vaccine since 2009 [47]. As vaccination against measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) was already well established, adding the varicella component to the MMR vaccine instead of applying varicella vaccine in a separate injection appeared to further enhance varicella vaccination coverage (without a negative impact thus far on coverage for measles) [24, 29].

The generally higher acceptance of measles vaccination and the somewhat delayed introduction of MMRV in Bavaria may also explain the observation that in our survey almost all children vaccinated against varicella were vaccinated against measles, but not all children vaccinated against measles were vaccinated against varicella. The lower acceptance of varicella vaccination in both study areas was further confirmed when the STIKO changed the recommendation in late 2011 towards separate first-dose vaccination for MMR and for varicella, due to a slightly increased risk of febrile seizures observed for first-dose MMRV vaccination [48]. This change resulted in a decline of varicella vaccination in both study areas, whereas measles vaccinations remained stable [48]. However, such an impact of the change in recommendation was not observed in other regions of Germany [22, 49].

Initially, vaccination coverage for varicella differed substantially between the federal states due to the different reimbursement regulations [8], and still differed in annual preschool entrance health examinations of children 5–6 years of age in 2014 (first-dose coverage between 69% and 95%; Bavaria 76%) [26]. Overall measles vaccination coverage in preschool children was generally higher and varied only slightly between the federal states (between 95% and 98%) [26]. However, between and within the federal states measles vaccination rates from health insurance claims data for 2017 still showed substantial regional differences in children under the age of two years, with usually lower vaccination coverage in the more southern federal states, including Bavaria [20].

Regional differences in the distribution of health care providers with a critical attitude towards vaccinations (e.g., homeopaths, alternative practitioners) have been mentioned as potential reasons for the observed regional differences in vaccination coverage [32]. Higher parental educational level potentially associated with a more critical view on vaccinations and, as a second point, less frequent attendance at a child daycare unit may also provide a potential explanation for the heterogeneity in vaccination coverage between north and south of Germany and also between the regions within Bavaria [32].

Strengths and limitations of the overall project were discussed previously [27, 29]. One of the strengths of the present analysis is the availability of comparable data within two regions with different socio-economic characteristics of the study population. The study was performed simultaneously in Munich and Würzburg over three consecutive years, allowing a direct comparison of the regions. A limitation of the present analysis on measles was the lack of information regarding the explicit recommendation of this vaccination by physicians. However, measles vaccination has been well established in the German population for several decades. Hence, it can be assumed that in contrast to the recently introduced varicella vaccination, parental acceptance for measles vaccination was more dependent from the parents’ own judgement and less dependent from physician’s recommendation. Nevertheless, regional differences could also be confirmed for measles vaccination, although much less pronounced than for varicella vaccination.

Varicella and measles vaccination rates in children aged 18 to 36 months differed between regions, with consistently higher rates observed in the Würzburg region of Northern Bavaria. Within each region, vaccination coverage was lower for varicella than for measles. Vaccination coverage clearly increased during the observation period in both regions and for both vaccinations. However, vaccination rates in the age group under investigation were still insufficient to prevent outbreaks.

The regions showed substantial differences between the study populations regarding socio-demographic factors. Different factors determined parental acceptance of varicella and measles vaccination. Measles vaccination status in the investigated age group was mainly dependent upon the attendance at a childcare unit and on the educational levels of the parents. In contrast, for the more recently introduced varicella vaccination recommendation by the physician had the strongest impact. This emphasizes the need for regional and vaccination-specific programs to increase vaccination coverage and to improve compliance in relation to the timeliness of the vaccinations.