A new online scorecard will allow the public, health professionals and scientists to study vaccination rates across Lithuania. The Lithuanian Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Dashboard is understood to be the first of several dashboards in the pipeline.
The data and website have been developed by Lithuania’s National Public Health Centre, part of Lithuania’s Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the State Data Agency (SDA) and is associated with the EU Joint Action against HPV, known as PERCH.
‘This tool, designed to increase awareness among Lithuanian residents and healthcare professionals, allows for real-time monitoring of vaccination data in different regions of Lithuania,’ according to authorities. ‘It provides an opportunity to analyse HPV vaccination data at the level of municipalities and healthcare institutions, and contributes to more accurate monitoring of the vaccination situation.’
The map of Lithuania shows HPV vaccination coverage by counties, municipalities and institutions. To analyse the data in more detail, the information in the map and tables can be filtered by age group, gender and geographical area. The tables also provide the numbers of residents who have received one or two doses.
Officials told Vaccines Today they hope that providing greater visibility on HPV vaccination rates will remind parents to think about vaccination, and will encourage healthcare professionals to keep pace with the best performing regions in the country.
‘We hope that doctors will be more active in encouraging parents and guardians to vaccinate their children by answering their questions,’ a spokesperson said. ‘Health coordinators of all municipalities will be able to monitor the results of HPV vaccination in personal healthcare institutions under their municipality.’
The data will be used in the preparation of messages for the public, while health care specialists will be reached through seminars, training and conferences, they said, which may translate into better uptake over time. ‘We expect to see the first results of the HPV vaccination dashboard in one or two years.’
By collating the data and sharing it publicly, anyone can calculate vaccination coverage in any region or municipality of Lithuania. In the first three weeks since its launch, there were approximately 500 visits to the site.
Room for improvement
The data so far point to relatively low uptake across the country, with some areas performing better than others. The goal will be to continue increasing vaccination in girls and boys across the country, while aiming to reduce differences in vaccine uptake.
‘We have municipalities in Lithuania that achieve better HPV vaccination coverage than others,’ a spokesperson for the National Public Health Centre said.
In the future, in cooperation with the State Data Agency, Lithuania plans to create more different vaccine dashboards that will allow for detailed monitoring of vaccination trends in Lithuania.
Like many European countries, Lithuania has adopted a life-course immunisation calendar. This means that, as well as offering vaccines to infants in the early years of their lives, certain vaccines are also available at other stages of life. For example, a diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTP) and a polio shot are offered in primary school and to teenagers.
A second dose of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is recommended for children in Lithuania at 6-7 years of age, while the HPV vaccine is offered to boys and girls at eleven years of age. Flu vaccines are recommended for people aged older than 65 years or those belonging to the risk groups. Tetanus and diphtheria vaccine is recommended every 10 years.
However, when it comes to adult vaccination, some European countries go further. For example, Poland offers RSV and pneumococcal vaccines to older people, while Italy offers older people vaccines against pneumococcal diseases and shingles.
Informing vaccine decisions
Prof Vytautas Usonis, Professor Emeritus, Vilnius University, and a trustee of the Coalition for Life-Course Immunisation, said publicly available data and transparent communication can help to drive better vaccine coverage.
An intensive information campaign was organised before the introduction of the HPV vaccine to the National Immunisation Calendar of Lithuania, he told Vaccines Today, with primary health providers, obstetricians and gynaecologists, and cancer specialists taking part in raising awareness.
‘The campaign was positively supported by media,’ he noted. ‘HPV vaccination in general was well accepted by society.’
Now that HPV vaccines are in the schedule, it is vital to keep track of uptake nationally and at county level. ‘No less important is that the HPV Vaccination Dashboard is open to media and the public, so everybody can see the real-time official data and use this data not only for personal information but also in discussions with vaccine hesitant individuals’ Prof Usonis said.
‘I do believe that the HPV Vaccination Dashboard will be one among the tools to increase HPV vaccination coverage.’
View Lithuania’s vaccine schedule here or find your national schedule on the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control (ECDC) website.
Read more:
Poland is prioritising disease prevention at all ages
Spotlight on Spain: building life-course vaccination on a strong foundation
How Italy embraced life-long vaccination (from the archive)