Home-based vaccination records and hypothetical cost-savings due to avoidance of re-vaccinating children

Abstract

As national immunization programmes, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries where administrative recording of services received is often absent or sub-optimal, enter a period of rapidly paced change with new vaccine introductions, it seems important to identify ways to avoid unnecessary re-vaccination of children and the associated costs. Some re-vaccination may be unavoidable, while other re-vaccination is almost certainly avoidable but nevertheless occurs. Unfortunately, the prevalence and epidemiology of re-vaccination of children are ill-described, and potential risks due to re-vaccination are either nil or also unknown. Nonetheless, it is seemingly important to better understand avoidable re-vaccinations that occur as a result of a breakdown along the service delivery continuum.