Abstract
Objectives: To investigate if Aboriginal people are equally included in new forms of vaccine safety post-marketing surveillance that support safety signal detection and confidence in the vaccine program by comparing the use of Vaxtracker active adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) surveillance between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal parents of vaccinated children.
Methods: In 2016, automated AEFI surveillance was conducted to monitor seasonal influenza vaccine in children aged 18 months to less than 5 years and for DTPa vaccine after the inclusion of a new dose at 18 months of age. To explore reasons for non-response, Aboriginal Immunisation Officers contacted the parents/carers of 24 (48.0%) Aboriginal children and 31 (26.7%) non-Aboriginal children who did not respond to the online survey.
Results: There were differential response rates for both vaccines between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal enrolees; 56.4% vs 76.8% (p=0.005) and 55.1% vs 78.2% (p
Conclusion: New systems of vaccine safety surveillance may not adequately include Aboriginal people.
Implications: Vaccine safety surveillance systems need to be designed to ensure high levels of participation and response from Aboriginal people.
Recommended Citation
Cashman, P.,
Munnoch, S.,
Clark, K.,
Allan, N.,
Clarke, S.,
Macartney, K.,
& Durrheim, D.
(2020).
The Aboriginal gap in online active vaccine safety surveillance.
Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin, 1(1).
http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/aihjournal.v1n1.3
DOI
10.14221/aihjournal.v1n1.3
