Regional Disparities in Childhood Immunization: BCG and DPT Coverage among Children aged 12–23 Months in Poor Performance States, India (NFHS-5)

Abstract

Prevalence of Vaccine Preventable Diseases exists despite development of vaccines. Zero dose DPT and vaccination gap for BCG has resulted inconsistent immunization coverage of aged 12-23 months in India. There is persistent lower immunization coverage in northern, central and north-eastern regions. The NFHS-5 data was used to understand the variation between the poor performance regions in order to accelerate immunization based on needs and priority. Data observed lower immunization coverage compared to BCG and DPT coverage alone. Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya had the highest dropout requiring immediate attention by the health care system. Muslims in main stream and Schedule Tribe in northeast need to be prioritized for vaccine awareness. A pattern of increasing immunization coverage with increasing birth order observed in Arunachal Pradesh while main stream states had decreasing immunization with increasing birth order. Future studies can be done to get more evidence-based research in relation with birth order and immunization.