In both cities and rural areas of Tanzania, babies from the poorest families are more likely to be late or miss their vaccines than babies from the richest families.

Scientific Claim

In both urban and rural Tanzania, infants from the poorest households have a 30-35% higher risk of delayed or incomplete DTP3 vaccination compared to those from the wealthiest households, indicating poverty is a consistent, cross-contextual barrier to timely immunization.

Original Statement

“In both settings, younger maternal age and poorer households were at increased risk for delayed or incomplete vaccination. ... The association between wealth quintile and delayed or incomplete vaccination was stronger in Morogoro than in Dar es Salaam for both DTP1 and DTP3 (p-values for interaction 0.02, < 0.001).”

From study:Determinants of delayed or incomplete diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination in parallel urban and rural birth cohorts of 30,956 infants in Tanzania

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

association

Can only show association/correlation

Assessment Explanation

The study uses relative risk estimates from multivariate models and avoids causal language. The association between poverty and vaccination delay is appropriately framed as correlational.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Determinants of delayed or incomplete diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination in parallel urban and rural birth cohorts of 30,956 infants in Tanzania

Cohort Study

Human

2019 Feb 26

The study found that babies from poor families in both cities and rural areas in Tanzania were more likely to miss their vaccines, showing that being poor makes it harder to get vaccinated no matter where you live.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Determinants of delayed or incomplete diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination in parallel urban and rural birth cohorts of 30,956 infants in Tanzania

Score: 66

DOI: 10.1186/s12879-019-3828-3

Similar Assertions

In rural Tanzania, babies born at home are more likely to be late or miss their vaccines than babies born in hospitals or clinics.

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In rural Tanzania, babies born small are actually less likely to miss their vaccines than babies born at a normal weight — the opposite of what’s seen in most other poor countries.

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In both cities and rural areas of Tanzania, teenage moms are much more likely to have babies who miss or are late on their vaccines than moms in their mid-20s.

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