[Vaccination coverage against COVID-19 according to country of birth, and underlying risk of severe clinical course]. / Vaksinasjonsdekning mot covid-19 etter fødeland og underliggende risiko for alvorlig sykdomsforløp.

Background: Support for the COVID-19 vaccination programme has been high in Norway throughout the pandemic, but previous studies have observed variation based on country of birth. If the unvaccinated are young and healthy, the risk and consequences for the individual and for the health service will be less than if the unvaccinated have underlying risk of severe COVID-19. The purpose of the study was to examine the degree to which vaccination coverage varied by country of birth in persons with and without underlying risk. Material and method: We used the Norwegian emergency preparedness register Beredt C19 to link vaccination coverage to demographic and health variables. Using Poisson regression, we estimated the relative likelihood of being vaccinated for foreign-born individuals compared to Norwegian-born individuals, for those with and without underlying risk of severe COVID-19, adjusted for sex, age, level of education, household income and county. Results: The study population was 4 304 249, which included 768 312 people who were born outside Norway. The vaccination coverage varied in total from 47 to 94 % between countries of birth. The variation between countries of birth was less in the group with underlying risk, ranging from 63 to 96 %. The difference between persons with and without an underlying risk was most pronounced among those born in Poland (RR 0.71 and 0.55) and Lithuania (RR 0.69 and 0.61). In absolute numbers, this corresponded to a difference in relative risk of 0.16 and 0.08, respectively. Interpretation: Higher vaccination coverage against COVID-19 among persons with an underlying risk means that the variation between countries of birth may have had less serious implications in terms of severe clinical course and healthcare needs than previously assumed.

COVID-19 vaccination rates among adolescents (12-17 years) by immigrant background and sociodemographic factors: A nationwide registry study in Norway.

PURPOSE: Lower COVID-19 vaccination rates have been observed among some adult immigrant populations in Norway, and there appears to be an association with sociodemographic factors. However, knowledge is lacking on the distribution of vaccination rates and role of sociodemographic factors among adolescents. This study aims to describe COVID-19 vaccination rates among adolescents according to immigrant background, household income, and parental education. METHODS: In this nationwide registry study, we analyzed individual-level data on adolescents (12-17 years) from the Norwegian Emergency preparedness register for COVID-19 until September 15th, 2022. We estimated incidence rate ratios (IRR) for receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by country background, household income and parental education, using Poisson regression, adjusting for age, sex, and county. RESULTS: The sample comprised 384,815 adolescents. Foreign-born and Norwegian-born with foreign-born parents, had lower vaccination rates (57 % and 58 %) compared to adolescents with at least one Norwegian-born parent (84 %). Vaccination rates by country background varied from 88 % (Vietnam) to 31 % (Russia). Variation and associations by country background, household income, and parental education were greater among 12-15-year-olds than 16-17-year-olds. Household income and parental education were positively associated with vaccination. Compared to the lowest income and education category, IRRs for household income ranged from 1.07 (95 % CI 1.06-1.09) to 1.31 (95 % CI 1.29-1.33) among 12-15-year-olds, and 1.06 (95 % CI 1.04-1.07) to 1.17 (95 % CI 1.15-1.18) among 16-17-year-olds. For parental education, from IRR 1.08 (95 % CI 1.06-1.09) to 1.18 (95 % CI 1.17-1.20) among 12-15-year-olds, and 1.05 (95 % CI 1.04-1.07) to 1.09 (95 % CI 1.07-1.10) among 16-17-year-olds. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 vaccination rates varied by immigrant background and age group, with lower rates especially among adolescents with background from Eastern Europe and among younger adolescents. Household income and parental education were positively associated with vaccination rates. Our results may help target measures to increase vaccination rates among adolescents.