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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Grand Hall area
Background:
Since 2000, one dose of varicella vaccine has been required for all children in Texas prior to school entry. The efficacy of a single dose of vaccine is about 70-85%, and outbreaks of “breakthrough” varicella have been increasingly reported even in highly vaccinated populations. A routine second dose of varicella vaccine was consequently recommended in 2006 for all children under 13 years of age, but has not yet been integrated as a requirement for school entry. During a school-wide varicella outbreak occurring in a Dallas County elementary school, a second vaccine was also recommended for all eligible students for the purposes of outbreak control.
Objectives:
The goals of this study were to evaluate parental awareness of the varicella outbreak and response to vaccine recommendations, and to identify barriers to full vaccination.
Methods:
Following school-wide dissemination of educational materials pertaining to the outbreak, 262 surveys were distributed to all parents in May 2008. Responses were analyzed using SPSS 16.0.
Results:
Of the respondents (73.3% response rate), 31.8% reported their child had received 2 doses of varicella vaccine prior to the outbreak. Only 8.4% of eligible children initially received the recommended second vaccine in response to outbreak recommendations. Although most parents (74%) indicated they would allow their child to receive the second varicella vaccine if offered at school, only 46% of those children subsequently attended the vaccine clinic.
Conclusions:
Responsiveness to health department recommendations in an outbreak setting for receipt of a second varicella dose was limited, even when an on-site vaccine clinic was offered. The challenges in achieving compliance with voluntary recommendations would support school-entry requirements for a second dose of vaccine as the most effective means of preventing varicella outbreaks in schools.