Vaccination against hepatitis B (Indicator 24)
Updated
The indicator describes the following: Vaccination coverage against hepatitis B among infants.
In 2017, the hepatitis B vaccine was included in the Norwegian Childhood Immunisation Programme. The first vaccination coverage for an entire year's birth cohort for this vaccine became available from 2020 as part of the vaccination coverage statistics for 2-year-olds.
Results
During the period 1990-2016, the hepatitis B vaccine was only offered to infants whose parents come from countries where the disease is common, so the vast majority of Norwegian infants have not been vaccinated. Vaccination was offered to the children of parents from countries with medium to high prevalence of hepatitis B, including all African and Asian countries, Russia, some Eastern European countries, South American countries and some countries in Western Europe. During this period, the level of coverage could not be calculated due to the inaccessibility of data on the number of children in the target population. The percentage of children in each birth cohort who received at least one dose of the hepatitis B vaccine has been reported; this percentage was around 28-36 per cent.
From and including 2017, hepatitis B was included in the Norwegian Childhood Immunisation Programme. The vaccination coverage was reported for the first time in 2020, as part of the vaccination coverage statistics for 2-year-olds. The Norwegian Childhood Immunisation Programme’s level of coverage for 2-year-olds for the hepatitis B vaccine was 97 % in 2020 and 96 % in 2021.
Data source: Norwegian Immunisation Registry SYSVAK
The data source for this indicator is the Norwegian Immunisation Registry SYSVAK
A description follows below.
Description
The Norwegian Immunisation Registry SYSVAK maintains an overview of the vaccination status of the individual and vaccination coverage in Norway.
The Norwegian Childhood Immunisation Programme includes a range of different vaccines which the health authorities recommend should be given to children and adolescents. Basic vaccination is mainly given to infants and young children, and for most vaccines, booster doses are offered to school-age children. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health is responsible for procuring the vaccines for the Norwegian Childhood Immunisation Programme and distributing them to the municipalities. Vaccination takes place at public health clinics and through the school health service and is free of charge. All administered vaccines are registered at individual level in SYSVAK. The Norwegian Childhood Immunisation Programme publishes an annual report that includes coverage statistics, reported cases of diseases for which vaccination is provided, the type of vaccines that have been used.
Effect measure
Vaccination coverage statistics for hepatitis B among infants was reported for the first time in 2020 (first entire birth cohort offered the vaccine, included in the vaccination coverage statistics for 2-year-olds).
Global indicator definition
WHO’s definition of the indicator
Indicator 24. Vaccination coverage against hepatitis B virus monitored by number of third doses of Hep-B vaccine (HepB3) administered to infants.