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Lee DID, Vanderhout S, Aglipay M, Birken CS, Morris SK, Piché-Renaud PP, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Maguire JL. Delay in childhood vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH = REVUE CANADIENNE DE SANTE PUBLIQUE 2022; 113:126-134. [PMID: 35060107 PMCID: PMC8773389 DOI: 10.17269/s41997-021-00601-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In many jurisdictions, routine medical care was reduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study was to determine whether the frequency of on-time routine childhood vaccinations among children age 0-2 years was lower following the COVID-19 declaration of emergency in Ontario, Canada, on March 17, 2020, compared to prior to the pandemic. METHODS We conducted a longitudinal cohort study of healthy children aged 0-2 years participating in the TARGet Kids! primary care research network in Toronto, Canada. A logistic mixed effects regression model was used to determine odds ratios (ORs) for delayed vaccination (> 30 days vs. ≤ 30 days from the recommended date) before and after the COVID-19 declaration of emergency, adjusted for confounding variables. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to explore the relationship between the declaration of emergency and time to vaccination. RESULTS Among 1277 children, the proportion of on-time vaccinations was 81.8% prior to the COVID-19 declaration of emergency and 62.1% after (p < 0.001). The odds of delayed vaccination increased (odds ratio = 3.77, 95% CI: 2.86-4.96), and the hazard of administration of recommended vaccinations decreased after the declaration of emergency (hazard ratio = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.60-0.92). The median vaccination delay time was 5 days (95% CI: 4-5 days) prior to the declaration of emergency and 17 days (95% CI: 12-22 days) after. CONCLUSION The frequency of on-time routine childhood vaccinations was lower during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustained delays in routine vaccinations may lead to an increase in rates of vaccine-preventable diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da In Diane Lee
- Department of Paediatrics, St. Michael's Hospital, 61 Queen Street East, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5C 2T2, Canada.,Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Shelley Vanderhout
- Department of Paediatrics, St. Michael's Hospital, 61 Queen Street East, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5C 2T2, Canada.,Department of Nutritional Sciences, Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Room 5253, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Mary Aglipay
- Department of Paediatrics, St. Michael's Hospital, 61 Queen Street East, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5C 2T2, Canada.,Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Catherine S Birken
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Nutritional Sciences, Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Room 5253, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada.,Division of Paediatric Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Pediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, ON, Toronto, Canada
| | - Shaun K Morris
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Pediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, ON, Toronto, Canada.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Pierre-Philippe Piché-Renaud
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Pediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, ON, Toronto, Canada.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Charles D G Keown-Stoneman
- Division of Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jonathon L Maguire
- Department of Paediatrics, St. Michael's Hospital, 61 Queen Street East, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5C 2T2, Canada. .,Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Department of Nutritional Sciences, Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Room 5253, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada. .,Department of Pediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, ON, Toronto, Canada. .,Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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Dinleyici EC, Borrow R, Safadi MAP, van Damme P, Munoz FM. Vaccines and routine immunization strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2021; 17:400-407. [PMID: 32845739 PMCID: PMC7899627 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2020.1804776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 related disease (COVID-19) is now responsible for one of the most challenging and concerning pandemics. By August 2020, there were almost 20 million confirmed cases worldwide and well over half-million deaths. Since there is still no effective treatment or vaccine, non-pharmaceutical interventions have been implemented in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. During times of quarantine, immunization practices in all age groups, especially routine childhood vaccines, have also been interrupted, delayed, re-organized, or completely suspended. Numerous high-income as well as low- and middle-income countries are now experiencing a rapid decline in childhood immunization coverage rates. We will, inevitably, see serious consequences related to suboptimal control of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) in children concurrent with or following the pandemic. Routine pediatric immunizations of individual children at clinics, mass vaccination campaigns, and surveillance for VPDs must continue as much as possible during pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ener Cagri Dinleyici
- Department of Pediatrics, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir, Turkey
| | - Ray Borrow
- Vaccine Evaluation Unit, Public Health England, Manchester, UK
| | | | - Pierre van Damme
- Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Flor M. Munoz
- Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
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