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. 2025 May 9;25(1):1710.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22920-z.

Timely vaccination with valid doses in a high coverage country, Oman

Prakash Kp #  1 , Bader Al-Rawahi #  2 , Noura Al-Farsi  2 , Mariyam Al-Shaibi  2 , Athari Al-Jahwari  2 , Bader Al-Abri  3 , Seif Al-Abri  4 , Amal Al-Maani  4
Affiliations

Timely vaccination with valid doses in a high coverage country, Oman

Prakash Kp et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Oman has achieved consistently high national immunization coverage; however, the timeliness and validity of vaccine administration remain under-assessed. This study evaluated the timeliness and validity of routine childhood vaccinations to provide a more comprehensive understanding of immunization program performance.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using WHO cluster sampling, targeting children under five across all 11 governorates and 61 districts in Oman. Data from 17,501 children were collected using the Epicollect5 app and verified through immunization cards and health records. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and WHO operational definitions were used to assess crude coverage, valid doses, timeliness, and dropout rates.

Results: Crude national vaccination coverage was high (94.4-99.9%), with 98.7% of children fully immunized. However, only 78% received valid vaccinations, indicating missed or delayed doses. Timely vaccination rates decreased with age, with notable delays at 18 months. Invalid vaccination rates ranged from 3.3% at birth to 28.1% at 18 months, with significant district-level variation. Dropout rates slightly increased with age, peaking in Muscat and Dhofar.

Conclusions: Oman achieves high vaccination coverage; however, a noteworthy number of children receive invalid doses. This highlights the urgent need to educate parents and healthcare providers on timely administration of valid doses. Assessing mild illnesses and promptly administering vaccinations can improve complete vaccination rates with valid doses.

Keywords: Coverage survey; Fully vaccinated; Immunization coverage; Oman; Vaccination coverage; Valid doses.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study used anonymized secondary data from national immunization coverage surveys and did not require ethical approval or consent to participate, in line with Oman’s Ministry of Health guidelines, as no patient interventions were involved. It complies with the Helsinki Declaration and Internal Review Committee standards. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
National vaccination coverage according to timeliness of vaccination (N = 17501)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Invalid vaccinations according to governorate/province
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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