title: Did the call for boycott by the Catholic bishops affect the polio vaccination coverage in Kenya in 2015? A cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Polio eradication is now feasible after removal of Nigeria from the list of endemic countries and global reduction of cases of wild polio virus in 2015 by more than 80%. However, all countries must remain focused to achieve eradication. In August 2015, the Catholic bishops in Kenya called for boycott of a polio vaccination campaign citing safety concerns with the polio vaccine. We conducted a survey to establish if the coverage was affected by the boycott.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross sectional survey was conducted in all the 32 counties that participated in the campaign. A total of 90,157 children and 37,732 parents/guardians were sampled to determine the vaccination coverage and reasons for missed vaccination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The national vaccination coverage was 93% compared to 94% in the November 2014 campaign. The proportion of parents/guardians that belonged to Catholic Church was 31% compared to 7% of the children who were missed. Reasons for missed vaccination included house not being visited (44%), children not being at home at time of visit (38%), refusal by parents (12%), children being as leep (1%), and various other reasons (5%). Compared to the November 2014 campaign, the proportion of children who were not vaccinated due to parent's refusal significantly increased from 6% to 12% in August 2015.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The call for boycott did not affect the campaign significantly. However, if the call for boycott is repeated in future it could have some significant negative implication to polio eradication. It is therefore important to ensure that any vaccine safety issues are addressed accordingly.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Njeru
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ajack
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muitherero
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Dickens
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Onyango
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Johnny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Musyoka
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Iheoma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Onuekusi
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Jackson
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kioko
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Muraguri
authors.affiliation: American Red Cross, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D002410:Catholicism; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D023321:Poliovirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D023321:Poliovirus Vaccines
keywords: Catholic bishops; Polio vaccine; boycott; vaccination; vaccine safety