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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Childhood Immunization in a Tertiary Health-Care Center
BACKGROUND: After the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, health facilities nationwide became the battleground for COVID-19. Many hospitals are designated as COVID-19 hospitals and various measures taken by the government to contain the spread of infection have disrupted the provision of routine health-...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8575194/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34759501 http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_847_20 |
Sumario: | BACKGROUND: After the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, health facilities nationwide became the battleground for COVID-19. Many hospitals are designated as COVID-19 hospitals and various measures taken by the government to contain the spread of infection have disrupted the provision of routine health-care services including immunization. The aim of this study is to describe the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on immunization in a tertiary level health-care facility. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY: Data of children vaccinated as per the Universal immunization program (UIP) schedule were retrieved from immunizations records for a 7 month (January to July) period for the years 2019 and 2020. The trends of vaccination during COVID-19 pandemic are studied and are compared with the date matched data of the previous year. RESULTS: There was a significant drop in the vaccine counts after emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. Maximum drop (−87%) was seen during the month of April (76.52% ± 43.62% vs. 16.95% ± 42.55%; P < 0.001) followed by May and June when it was −67% and −33%, respectively. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 pandemic has created the gaps in immunization which requires immediate attention. Further failure in sustaining the vaccination services and weak catch-up plans can lead to the emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases which may result in increased childhood morbidity and mortality. |
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