The Danish Childhood Immunisation Programme 2022

Go to Danish report: Børnevaccinationsprogrammet 2022 - statusrapport

Summary of annual report on the Danish Childhood Immunisation Programme 2022

The vaccination uptake in the Childhood Immunisation Programme remained high in 2022

Vaccination uptake in the Danish Childhood Immunisation Programme was generally high in 2022. The vaccination coverage has been stable among the vaccines that are given in the child's first years of life. In addition, there was an increased uptake for the DiTeKiPol booster vaccination at the age of 5 from 87 % in 2021 to 91 % in 2022.

However, there was a slight decrease in HPV vaccination uptake among girls and boys. 87 % of children born in 2009 have received the first HPV vaccination in 2022.

Initiatives to maintain a high vaccination uptake in the Danish Childhood Immunisation Programme

In 2022, many initiatives were launched to maintain and strengthen uptake in the Childhood Immunisation Programme.

For example, a questionnaire survey was conducted to examine parents' attitudes towards the Childhood Immunisation Programme. Experiences from other countries have shown that worry and doubt in relation to vaccination can contribute to parents being more likely to deselect vaccination for their child. Based on this finding, the Danish Health Authority conducted a questionnaire survey, which examined parents' attitudes towards the Childhood Immunisation Programme in the autumn of 2022. The purpose of the survey was to capture any type of hesitancy or concerns in the population towards vaccination and give Danish Health Authorities an opportunity to act on it. Another initiative, which has been ongoing from 2019 to 2022, was to educate health visitors to become immunisation ambassadors. For the past three years, the Danish Health Authority has offered courses to educate future immunisation ambassadors. The initiative received a lot of support, and approximately 180 health visitors from all over Denmark have become immunisation ambassadors. The Danish Health Authority has subsequently carried out an evaluation of the initiative. The evaluation showed that many of the health visitors who participated in the courses experienced that the courses had provided them with greater knowledge about vaccination and a better understanding of the Childhood Immunisation Programme. Several of the immunisation ambassadors have passed on some of the new knowledge and competencies they learned on the course to their colleagues. These experiences can be used in future courses, as well as for similar events about the Childhood Immunisation Programme.

In addition, the Danish Health Authority has updated communication materials about the Childhood Immunisation Programme, including an update of the pamphlet on the Childhood Immunisation Programme and a new “online universe” on the Danish Health Authority's website. The purpose of updating the pamphlet and the new “online universe” is to strengthen the information effort about Danish Childhood Immunisation Programme.

Special conditions for the Danish Childhood Immunisation Programme in 2022

In 2022, there were several special conditions for the Childhood Immunisation Programme. The Danish Health Authority decided to extend the temporary offer of free influenza vaccination to children aged 2 to 6 years, in order to prevent the spread of influenza in the population.

Parents’ attitudes towards vaccination of children aged 2 to 6 years were examined through interviews and a questionnaire survey. The purpose of the interviews was to monitor parents’ attitudes towards vaccination and identify factors that impacted their decision on whether to vaccinate their child or not. The study found that the vast majority of parents were positive towards having their child vaccinated. However, this was in contrast to the actual influenza vaccination uptake in children.

In continuation of the influenza vaccination for children aged 2 to 6 years, factors associated with low influenza uptake in children were examined. The results showed that factors such as country of origin, parents' level of education, income, and number of siblings can have an impact on the child's vaccination status.

The offer of free pertussis vaccination for pregnant women was also extended in 2022. The purpose of pertussis vaccination for pregnant women is to protect newly born children in their first months of life until they can be vaccinated against pertussis at 3 months of age as part of the Childhood Immunisation Programme.

Global disease outbreaks of concern in 2022

In Denmark, the risk of major disease outbreaks from vaccine-preventable diseases are generally low. However, the covid-19 pandemic has shown that we can also be affected in Denmark when new diseases are introduced. The Danish health authorities continuously monitor infectious diseases globally.

In 2021, declines in vaccination uptake against polio and measles were observed. This may be part of the explanation for the increase in cases of polio seen in 2022. Cases of polio have been observed in countries that have been polio-free for years. The decline in vaccination uptake for measles was particularly seen in countries in Southeast Asia, but there has also been a decline in vaccination uptake in Europe.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine resulted in approximately 8 million people fleeing to other countries in Europe. Before the war, vaccination uptake in Ukraine was among the lowest in Europe, which has resulted in several outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the country. Ukrainian children who come to Denmark have the opportunity to receive free vaccination against all the diseases included in the Danish Childhood Immunisation Programme.

Monitoring reports of suspected side effects to the vaccines in the Childhood Immunisation Programme

In 2022, the Danish Medicines Agency received a total of 338 reports of suspected side effects in children from the vaccines included in the Childhood Immunisation Programme. The total annual number of reports of side effects in children have decreased since 2016. The vast majority of reports of suspected side effects from childhood vaccines are not serious and concern mild and moderate reactions after vaccination.

Patient safety incidents can provide important learning

In 2022, 111 adverse events were reported with vaccines included in the Childhood Immunisation Programme. Reporting of adverse events is used locally for learning in the municipality, region or private hospital and hospice where the error occurred. They are then anonymised and sent to the Danish Patient Safety Authority, which uses the accidental incidents for learning in the healthcare system nationally.