Immunization coverage among refugee children in Berlin

BACKGROUND: The Tempelhof refugee camp offers in-camp immunizations. Other camps, like Neukölln, rely on a centralized immunization system. We aimed to determine the impact of conflict on immunization rates of Syrian children and to measure the efficacy of in-camp immunization services. METHODS: Families with children aged 1-5 in Tempelhof and Neukölln camps were surveyed. Surveys included siblings under the age of 18. Differences were compared using χ(2) test. RESULTS: Data on 179 children at Tempelhof and 40 children at Neukölln were collected. At Tempelhof, amongst Syrian children, 27.8% under the age of 5 were “fully immunized-memory,” in contrast to 73.7% over the age of 5 (P = 0.005). This difference in immunization rates by memory between the age groups was not observed in Afghani children (P = 0.34) or in Iraqi children (P = 0.10). Furthermore, compared to the 27.8% of Syrian children, 75% of Afghani children under the age of 5 were “fully vaccinated-memory” (P = 0.0009). Compared to Tempelhof, more children at Neukölln were partially immunized (93%) or had no immunizations (5%) (P < 0.001).