Immunization During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Recommendations From Indian Academy of Pediatrics Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Immunization Practices

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Routine Immunization in the Province of Laghman, Afghanistan

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization as a public health international emergency concern in March 2020, has caused serious impacts on individuals, families, communities, and societies across the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic not only disrupted the health systems and the economy, but also significantly impacted routine immunization programs.

Aim

To study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on the routine immunization coverage program in the province of Laghman, Afghanistan.

Methods

A comparative cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted to understand the impact of COVID-19 on routine childhood immunization during the study period. Secondary data was used from the Ministry of Health from April to July 2020 and compared with the historical data of the same period in 2019. Student t-test was used to test the association between the mean changes in the daily immunization coverage. A p-value<0.05 was considered as statistically significant with 95% confidence interval.

Results

There was a 21.4% significant (p<0.01) decline in the total immunization coverage during April–July 2020 compared to April–July 2019. This reduction was diverse across all districts and all vaccine antigens. The most affected district was Alingar, and the most affected vaccines were measles and OPV4, with 28% declines, followed by PCV3 at 26%, and DPT3, IPV, OPV3, PCV2 and rotavirus at 23%. The outreach vaccination coverage declined by 56.1% compared to the fixed, at 13.4%.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic seriously affected the routine immunization in Afghanistan. On average, 325 children per day missed out on a lifesaving vaccine in Laghman province which put them at risk of getting preventable diseases. To provide access to routine immunization during pandemics, the study suggests a set of customized interventions to strengthen and sustain routine immunization.

Supporting Immunization Uptake during a Pandemic, Using Remote Phone Call Intervention among Babies Discharged from a Special Neonatal Care Unit (SNCU) in South India

COVID-19 has impacted children’s immunization rates, putting the lives of children at risk. The present study assesses the impact of phone-call counseling, on immunization uptake during the pandemic. Families of babies discharged from the SNCUs in six government centers in three South Indian states were recruited. Calls were made 10 days after the immunization due date. Missed vaccinees were counseled and followed up on 7 and 15 days. Of 2313 contacted, 2097 completed the survey. Respondents were mostly mothers (88.2%), poor (67.5%), and had secondary level education (37.4%). Vaccinations were missed due to the baby’s poor health (64.1%), COVID-19 related concerns (32.6%), and lack of awareness (16.8%). At the end of the intervention, the immunization uptake increased from 65.2% to 88.2%. Phone-call intervention can safely support immunization and lower the burden on health workers.

OUP accepted manuscript

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to disruption in delivering routine healthcare services including routine immunization (RI) worldwide. Understanding the enablers and barriers for RI services during a pandemic is critically important to develop context-appropriate strategies to ensure uninterrupted routine services.

Methods

A community-based, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in five different states of India, nested within an ongoing multicentric study on RI. Telephone in-depth interviews among 56 health workers were carried out and the data were analyzed using a content analysis method.

Results

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers encountered many challenges at the health system, community and individual level when rendering RI services. Challenges like the limited availability of personal protective equipment and vaccines, deployment for COVID-19 duty at system level, the difficulty in mobilizing people in the community, fear among people at community level, mobility restrictions and limited family support, as well as the stress and stigma at individual level, were barriers to providing RI services. By contrast, the issuing of identification cards to health staff, engaging community volunteers, the support given to health workers by their families and training on COVID-19, were factors that enabled health workers to maintain RI services during the pandemic.

Conclusions

When addressing the COVID-19–related public health emergency, we should not lose sight of the importance of services like RI.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunization

The current COVID-19 global pandemic continues to impact healthcare services beyond those directly related to the management of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and disease. We reviewed the published literature to assess the pandemic impact on existing global immunization activities and how the impact may be addressed. Widespread global disruption in routine childhood immunization has impacted a majority of regions and countries, especially in the initial pandemic phases. While data indicate subsequent recovery in immunization rates, a substantial number of vulnerable people remain unvaccinated. The downstream impact may be even greater in resource-limited settings and economically poorer populations, and consequently there are growing concerns around the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly measles. Guidance on how to address immunization deficits are available and continue to evolve, emphasizing the importance of maintaining and restoring routine immunization and necessary mass vaccination campaigns during and after pandemics. In this, collaboration between a broad range of stakeholders (governments, industry, healthcare decision-makers and frontline healthcare professionals) and clear communication and engagement with the public can help achieve these goals.Key messagesThe COVID-19 pandemic has a substantial impact on essential immunization activities.Disruption to mass vaccination campaigns increase risk of VPD resurgence.Catch-up campaigns are necessary to limit existing shortfalls in vaccine uptake.Guidance to mitigate these effects continues to evolve.

Mitigating the Impacts of COVID-19 on Global Child Health: a Call to Action

Purpose of Review

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), continues to affect individuals, communities, and health systems worldwide. Here, we highlight how COVID-19 threatens to jeopardize the tremendous gains made over the last few decades on improving children’s health globally.

Recent Findings

In contrast to adults, children with COVID-19 are less likely to develop severe disease requiring hospitalization or die as a direct result of infection. However, the pandemic will likely have other important health impacts disproportionately affecting vulnerable children globally. Possible effects include worsening of poverty and food insecurity; disruption of already strained routine child health services; damage to already imperiled healthcare workforces; a wave of mental health challenges; interruption of education; and increased risks of violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect. These challenges notwithstanding, the response to COVID-19 may also provide opportunities, such as for health system strengthening, that could improve child health after the pandemic.

Summary

The negative impacts of COVID-19 on global child health may be substantial. However, these are not foregone conclusions and much can be done to mitigate the worst outcomes. Child health providers should advocate for an equitable response to COVID-19 that prioritizes the health of vulnerable children and furthers the gains made in global child health.