Evaluation of the national child vaccination support project, 2014-2017

Kim Jung-hee, Yu Jeong-hee, Kim You-mi
Division of VPD Control & NIP, Center for Infectious Disease Control, KCDC

Vaccination has been one of the most cost-effective public health interventions that protect not only individuals but also others by increasing population immunity(herd immunity) level and thus minimizing the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases. Since 2014, in addition to the free-of-charge immunization service in the public health centers, the Korea’s National Immunization Support Program has expanded to fund or reimburse for immunization service expenses incurred in the participatory medical institutions in the private sector, for lowering the economic burden of vaccination costs and boosting the vaccination level. The sorts of vaccines funded under the National Immunization Program(NIP) have continuously expanded from 8 in 2009 to 17 in 2017, by adding pneumococcal pneumonia, HPV, and DTaP-IPV/Hib. The number of medical institutions participated in vaccination service grew from 4,000 in 2009 to 10,000 in 2017. Many advances have been made in the Korea National Immunization Program over the past decade by achieving more than 95% coverage of vaccination level. The Korea Centers for Disease Control has been continuing to strive for the raising public awareness on the importance of vaccination.

Keywords: Immunity, Public Health, Vaccination, Immunization Program, Private Sector