Zens et al.
A cross-sectional study evaluating tick-borne encephalitis vaccine uptake and timeliness among adults in Switzerland.
medRxiv, doi:10.1101/2021.02.04.21251135
Although many countries have clear guidelines and recommendations in place for TBE vaccinations, compliance of individuals is often unknown. A cross-sectional study has been carried out in Switzerland to evaluate timeliness of TBE vaccination and vaccine uptake.
A total of 26,880 individuals were requested by mail to submit a copy of their vaccination record, of which 4,626 submitted their copies. For vaccine uptake analyses, participants with ≥1 TBE vaccination (n=1875) were evaluated, and to estimate timeliness, individuals completing the primary series (≥3 vaccinations, n=1178) were included.
It was observed that among study participants, there was a striking increase in uptake of the first injection from 2006 to 2009. Mean age of the first vaccine dose was 37 years. Among individuals completing the primary series, 29% received three doses of Encepur, 59% received three doses of FSME-Immun, and 12% received a combination of the two vaccines. Most vaccinees received the vaccines by the conventional scheme, and only 4-6% followed the “rapid” vaccination schedule. 88% of the individuals received the second dose “on time” and 78% received the third dose “on time”. 31% of individuals who completed the primary series received ≥1 booster dose. The first booster was received with a mean time of 7.1 years while the second booster was received with a mean time of 5.5 years after the first.
25% of the adults received their first TBE vaccination when aged 50+. In about 20%, the primary vaccination was not completed after the first injection. In total, the results of this study indicate that TBE vaccination compliance was higher compared to other countries like Germany (see Snapshot week 3/2021).