RESUMO
The national vaccination campaing carried out in Colombia in 1984 was aimed at increasing vaccination coverage of the child population under 4 years of age with DPT, oral polio, and measles vaccines. This study compares the cost of vaccinations performed during the campaign with that of vaccinations performed by the normal vaccination services in several departments of Colombia in the same year, and evaluates the cost-effectiveness of each strategy. It was found that the average cost per vaccination at units selected in the department of Bogotá, Cundinamarca, and Huila was similar to that of the campaign. However, for each infant receiving a third dose of DPT under the campaign the cost was more than twice that of the normal services. National vaccination coverage, measured as the number of infants that received a third dose of DPT, increased considerably both as a result of the campaign and of the normal services provided by the health units. Coverage rose from 42.3 per cent in 1983 to 66.7 per cent by the end of 1984. However, more than half this increase was attributable to the normal vaccination services