Key Issues Regarding Immunization of Children

Introduction: Immunization is the key component for child health. It acts as a protective shield to keep the children safe against the infectious diseases. However, millions of children still miss the routine vaccines. Globally, the efforts are being intensified to increase the coverage of vaccines especially in low coverage areas. Still, there are several challenges to promote the acceptance and adherence to the vaccination schedule. Materials and methods: A survey of 200 households was conducted and adults (Parents/ guardian) were interviewed. The tool consisted of 7 items related to the demographic profile and 10 items consisting of vital issues related to immunization for non-acceptance or adherence to the vaccination. Results: 49% of the subjects were in the age group of 21-30 years, 64% were females, 82.5% were parents, 46% had 2 children in the family, 29% were educated upto 12th, 46.5% were homemakers and 89% visited government health facility for vaccination. The major issue identified was inadequate communication and lack of motivation for immunization (28%). 21% did not take the child for vaccination at the time of last dose due to sickness. 17.5% were not adequately informed regarding when and where to go for vaccination. 16% missed last dose of their child’s vaccine due to forgetfulness or inconvenience to manage time. 15.5% believed that vaccines are not effective. Other issues included lack of trust in health services (7.5%), health facility located at a far distance (6.5%), vaccines are not necessary (5%), serious side effects related to the past vaccine (4%) and 2% believed that immunization is not safe. Conclusion: The results indicated that there is a need to increase the awareness related to immunization. Information, education and communication will help to motivate the beneficiaries and decrease the gap between availability and utilization of services. Key words: Immunization, Issues, Children