Pairs of independent nationally representative vaccination coverage surveys conducted within one year of each other: A global overview covering 2000–2019

BACKGROUND: Population-based surveys play an important role in measuring vaccination coverage. Surveys measuring vaccination coverage may be commissioned by the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI surveys) or part of multi-domain non-EPI surveys such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) or Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). Surveys conducted too close in time to each other may not only be an inefficient use of resources but may also create problems for programme staff when results suggest inconsistent patterns of programme performance for similar time periods. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the occurrence of vaccination coverage surveys conducted close in time during 2000–2019 and compare results of EPI and non-EPI coverage surveys when the surveys were conducted within one year of each other. METHODS: Using a database of published national-level vaccination coverage survey results compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the authors abstracted information on survey field work dates, sample size, percentage of children with documented history of vaccination and the percent coverage, as well as published uncertainty intervals from DHS and MICS, for the first and third doses of diphtheria-tetanus toxoid-pertussis containing vaccine (DTP1, DTP3) and first dose of measles containing vaccine (MCV1). Survey results of EPI and non-EPI surveys were compared. RESULTS: The authors identified 646 surveys with final reports and estimates of national-level vaccination coverage for DTP1, DTP3, or MCV1 from a total of 687 surveys with data collection start date from 2000 to 2019. Of the 140 countries with at least one vaccination coverage survey, a median of four surveys was observed. Most countries were Gavi-eligible and located in the WHO Africa Region. Sixty-six survey dyads were identified where an EPI survey occurred within one year of a non-EPI survey. For the 66 dyads, in 49 of 59 with information available, EPI surveys reported higher proportion of documented evidence of vaccination and EPI survey results tended to suggest higher levels of vaccination coverage compared to the non-EPI surveys; quite often, differences were substantial. Surveys that found higher proportions of children with documented vaccination evidence tended to also find higher proportions of children who had been vaccinated. SUMMARY: Opportunities exist to improve overall planning of vaccination coverage measurement in population-based household surveys so that both EPI and non-EPI surveys are more comparable and survey coverage estimates are more appropriately spaced in time. When surveys occur too close in time, careful attention is warranted to ensure comparability and assess sources of documented evidence of vaccination and related coverage differences.