A cross-sectional survey in Zhejiang and Henan provinces in China found that children with caregivers aged over 35 years and lower education levels were less likely to receive self-paid vaccinations. Self-paid vaccines are additional voluntary vaccines recommended by the WHO, but which aren’t included in the National Immunization Program: hemophilus influenza b (Hib), varicella, rotavirus, enterovirus 71 (EV71), and 13-valent pneumonia (PCV 13) vaccine.
Compared to urban local children, children classed as migrant, non-left-behind, and left-behind children were more likely to be zero-dose vaccinated. Left-behind families refer to one or both parents migrating into cities for work, leaving their children in the rural communities with other caregivers (e.g., grandparents) for over six months, while non-left-behind families refer to rural local counterparts. Migrant and rural children should be prioritized in the promotion of self-paid immunization in order to accomplish the WHO Immunization Agenda 2030’s goal of “leaving no one behind”.
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