Immunization coverage
Survey methods
Surveys aim to estimate the levels of immunization coverage at either national or sub-national levels. They aim to either establish baseline information, to provide a comparison with administrative estimates (to verify administrative coverage data), or to satisfy the demands of the partner agencies
Although the primary objective of an immunIzation coverage survey is to provide a coverage estimate for selected vaccines (for infants and/or women), other information, which is usually not available through routine monitoring systems, can be collected simultaneously
Examples of other information that can be collected are:
WHO/A.Jenny
- reasons for non immunization
- proportion of administered doses that are valid
- coverage by categories such as gender and socio-economic status
The two main methods recommended by WHO are:
- the EPI cluster survey (WHO methodology)
- the Lot Quality Assurance (LQA) technique