The contagious nature of a vaccine scare: How the introduction of HPV vaccination lifted and eroded MMR vaccination in Denmark

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelfagfællebedømt

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage was high in Denmark until it plunged following negative media coverage. We examined whether the decline in HPV vaccination undermined uptake of another adolescent vaccine, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR).
Methods: The Danish national health register provided data on uptake of MMR vaccine dose 2 (at age 13) for children born from 1991 to 2003 (n = 827,716). The primary exposure variable comprised three time periods: before HPV vaccine introduction, during high HPV vaccine coverage, and after the drop in HPV
vaccine coverage. To examine the effect of HPV vaccination on MMR2 uptake, we estimated MMR2 uptake by age 13 using logistic regression, controlling for gender, birth month, birth year, and maternal education.
Findings: MMR2 vaccination coverage was high for both girls and boys (86% and 85%) in 2009. Following the introduction of HPV vaccine for girls in 2009, MMR2 coverage increased for girls even as it decreased for boys (gender gap 46 percentage points, 95% CI 43 to 48). Coverage with MMR2 for girls continued to be high over the following four years, and almost all girls (91%) who received MMR2 vaccination also received HPV1 vaccination within the same week. When negative media coverage led to a decline in HPV vaccination, MMR2 uptake for girls also declined. By 2015, MMR2 coverage for girls and boys had become similar again (80% and 79%). Families with the highest level of maternal education showed the strongest decline in MMR2 coverage for girls.
Interpretation: Concomitant vaccine provision can increase overall vaccine uptake. However, reduced demand for one vaccine may reduce concomitant vaccination and undermine resiliency of a country’s vaccination program.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftVaccine
Vol/bind38
Udgave nummer28
Sider (fra-til)4432-4439
ISSN0264-410X
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 9 jun. 2020

ID: 244366349