Incidence of immunization errors in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil: a cross-sectional study, 2015-2019

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of immunization errors in the public health service of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, based on errors reported on the National Immunization Program Information System between 2015 and 2019. A descriptive analysis and calculation of the incidence for the state's health macro-regions were performed. Results: A total of 3,829 notifications were analyzed. Children younger than 1 year old were the most affected (39.1%) and the intramuscular route accounted for 29.4% of the errors. The most frequently reported error was administration of vaccines outside minimum and maximum recommended ages (37.7%). There was a higher incidence of errors in Vale do Aço (26.5/100,000) and Triângulo do Norte (22.6/100,000) macro-regions. Conclusion: Immunization errors showed a heterogeneous incidence among the macro-regions of the state of Minas Gerais, between 2015-2019, and the administration of vaccines outside minimum and maximum recommended ages was the most frequently reported error.