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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global disruption of several services, including routine immunizations. This effect has been described in several countries, but there are few detailed studies
in Latin America and no reports in Ecuador. Therefore, this work aims to quantify the reduction in routine immunizations for infants during the 2020 COVID-...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... data contain information about vaccines exclusively. Doses applied, years, months, general geographical locations, and no personal information. A total of four types of vaccines within the Ecuadorian routine immunization programs for infants under one year were compared: the ROTA, PV, PCV, and PENTA vaccines for the pre-pandemic years 2018-2019 and for the initial year of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The national program recommends applying two doses for the ROTA vaccine at 2 and 4 months and three doses for the PV, PCV, and PENTA vaccines at 2, 4, and 6 ...Context 2
... data were compared from March-at the beginning of the lockdown declaration in Ecuador-to December, for the 2018 and 2020 years. Information about the population of infants for each region and province was also obtained from the MSP ( Table 1). The vaccination coverage calculated in this study is the proportion of children in the Region receiving the recommended vaccines [23]. ...Similar publications
In Italy, free vaccinations for Herpes Zoster (HZ), pneumococcal (PCV), and influenza (FLU) are recommended each year for individuals turning 65. Despite this, achieving optimal vaccination coverage remains challenging. This study assesses coverage rates for HZ, PCV, and FLU in Forlì, Northern Italy, and examines how altitude, urban planning, and h...
Citations
... The Dominican Republic saw a drop of 10 percentage points, 35 while vaccinations were reduced by 36% in Mexico, 36 37 and 14% fewer doses administered were in Ecuador. 38 In Brazil, approximately 20% of children missed vaccinations, with an 18% overall decline in doses administered in the first year of the pandemic. [39][40][41] However, one study found no significant evidence of COVID-19 isolation measures on vaccines per child in Brazil. ...
... The reverse trend was seen for vaccine sales early in the pandemic (ie, April to August 2020), with high-income countries experiencing a 20% decline and low-income countries observing a 10% increase. 13 On a subnational level, many countries observed statistically significant differences between regions, provinces or districts in regards to the change in health service utilisation, 37 51 56 59 82 routine immunisation coverage 38 44 55 or complete vaccination. 24 In some countries, certain provinces reported increases in immunisation service provision or doses for some vaccines, such as in the Southern Province of Rwanda, where measles and rubella immunisation increased. ...
Objectives
We conducted a rapid review to determine the extent that immunisation services in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and synthesised the factors that can be used to build resilience in future.
Design
Rapid review reported in accordance with the Preferred reporting for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
Data sources
PubMed and Web of Science were searched through 6 October 2023.
Eligibility criteria for selecting studies
We included studies that focused on disruption to immunisation activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic in LMICs. Outcomes included routine vaccine coverage, supplementary immunisation activities, vaccine doses, timing of vaccination, supply chain changes, and factors contributing to disruption or resilience.
Data extraction and synthesis
Two independent reviewers used standardised methods to search, screen and code studies. Quality assessment was performed using a modified version of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme for qualitative research. Findings were summarised qualitatively.
Results
Of 4978 identified studies, 85 met the eligibility criteria. Included studies showed declines in immunisation activities across LMICs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These included reductions in achieved routine coverage, cancellation or postponement of campaigns and underimmunised cohorts. Immunisation was most disrupted in the early months of the pandemic; however, recovery varied by country, age-group and vaccine. Though many countries observed partial recovery in 2020, disruption in many countries continued into 2021. It has also been noted that clinician staff shortages and vaccine stock-outs caused by supply chain disruptions contributed to immunisation delays, but that concern over COVID-19 transmission was a leading factor. Key resiliency factors included community outreach and healthcare worker support.
Conclusions
There is limited information on whether reductions in vaccination coverage or delays have persisted beyond 2021. Further research is needed to assess ongoing disruptions and identify missed vaccine cohorts.
... The literature also supported the reports of decreased immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the pandemic affected routine immunization globally and a greater effect was expected in LMICs [23,[34][35][36][37]. A recent study conducted in Ecuador (an LMIC) that aimed to assess the vaccination coverage during the pandemic in 2020 reported a decreased number of vaccine doses and vaccination coverage for infants for the rotavirus, poliovirus, PCV, and pentavalent vaccines as compared to previous years [20]. The study also explained that the causes of decreased vaccination coverage could be related to parental choices to use another method for immunity, misconception, national lockdowns, mobilization restrictions, and fear of infection [20]. ...
... A recent study conducted in Ecuador (an LMIC) that aimed to assess the vaccination coverage during the pandemic in 2020 reported a decreased number of vaccine doses and vaccination coverage for infants for the rotavirus, poliovirus, PCV, and pentavalent vaccines as compared to previous years [20]. The study also explained that the causes of decreased vaccination coverage could be related to parental choices to use another method for immunity, misconception, national lockdowns, mobilization restrictions, and fear of infection [20]. Similarly, a study conducted in Pakistan to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on routine immunization reported the same conclusion [23]. ...
Although immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective interventions that prevents millions of infant and child deaths yearly, it has failed to achieve its intended goals in some low-income countries. Yemen is currently experiencing the most extreme humanitarian crisis globally, which has affected health and worsened its economy and political governance instability. There are few reports on Yemeni vaccination statuses. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the public health emergency crises on childhood immunization in Yemen. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted in the Coastal Hadhramaut Governorate, Yemen. Secondary data from governorate annual reports for 2013–2020 were extracted. The assessment of the annual immunization coverage rate according to each vaccine was tabulated. The analysis revealed that the 2013–2019 vaccination coverage in Coastal Hadhramaut demonstrated an increasing trend. However, vaccination coverage decreased for all vaccines in 2015–2016 and 2020. Although all three doses of the pentavalent vaccine demonstrated >85% coverage in all years, the coverage of the first and second doses decreased in 2016, and the coverage of all doses decreased in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health emergencies negatively affected routine immunization coverage in Yemen. The trend correlated with the humanitarian crisis and other research findings in Yemen. The national response to public health threats during emergency crises must involve strengthening the program for monitoring and evaluating vaccine-preventable diseases.
... De igual forma, los avances tecnológicos continuarán generando nuevos recursos, cuyo uso dependerá del contexto de investigación básica o salud pública que nos planteemos. Situaciones como la pandemia por COVID-19, así como sus consecuencias sobre diversas dimensiones de la salud en la sociedad (Suárez-Rodríguez et al., 2022), junto con fenómenos emergentes como la resistencia a antimicrobianos (Shields et al., 2017), nos muestran que podemos emplear la experiencia adquirida a lo largo de la historia para mejorar nuestra preparación ante eventos epidemiológicos, alimentar el bucle de conocimiento investigación-servicios clínicos y aumentar la calidad de vida de las personas. E l planeta ha experimentado un crecimiento económico y una mejora sustantiva del bienestar nunca antes vista, situación que también ha provocado en los ecosistemas una continua degradación de los recursos naturales y de los servicios ecosistémicos que sostienen la vida en general (Lövbrand et al., 2015;Steffen et al., 2011). ...
A lo largo de la historia las enfermedades infecciosas han tenido un impacto en la humanidad, y su presencia ha estado estrechamente relacionada con el crecimiento poblacional y fenómenos como el cambio climático, la migración, la globalización y la urbanización. La expansión de las comunidades hacia la naturaleza ha facilitado el salto a los humanos de agentes infecciosos que antes estaban confinados en ambientes no incursionados por el hombre. A pesar de ello, la esperanza de vida se ha visto incrementada en respuesta a los avances sociales y tecnológicos, que se han desarrollado con el objeto de mejorar la calidad de vida de la población. Esto ha promovido la creación de nuevas estrategias para hacer frente a las diferentes dimensiones epidemiológicas de este tipo de enfermedades, a nivel de brotes, epidemias y pandemias. Precisamente, la pandemia por COVID-19, iniciada en 2020, nos mostró una situación en la cual las enfermedades infecciosas no pueden ser menospreciadas, a pesar de los avances logrados para su control y mitigación en diversas partes del mundo.
... These limited economic and social aid policies have resulted in significant reductions in the coverage of health supplies and medications for chronic patients, maternal health, and sexual and reproductive health as well as unequal vaccine access [24]. In this context, a few studies conducted in Ecuador reported an increased prevalence of psychological distress symptoms [25]. ...
Being female, having solely public healthcare system access, perceiving housing conditions
as inadequate, living with cohabitants requiring care, perceiving difficulties in coping with
work or managing household chores, COVID-19 infection, chronic disease, and depression
symptoms were significantly and independently associated with poor self-reported health
status in Ecuadorian population.
... These limited economic and social aid policies have resulted in significant reductions in the coverage of health supplies and medications for chronic patients, maternal health, and sexual and reproductive health as well as unequal vaccine access [24]. In this context, a few studies conducted in Ecuador reported an increased prevalence of psychological distress symptoms [25]. ...
Objective
To examine the associations of sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors with depression, anxiety, and self-reported health status during the COVID-19 lockdown in Ecuador. We also assessed the differences in these associations between women and men.
Design, setting, and participants
We conducted a cross-sectional survey between July to October 2020 to adults who were living in Ecuador between March to October 2020. All data were collected through an online survey. We ran descriptive and bivariate analyses and fitted sex-stratified multivariate logistic regression models to assess the association between explanatory variables and self-reported health status.
Results
1801 women and 1123 men completed the survey. Their median (IQR) age was 34 (27–44) years, most participants had a university education (84%) and a full-time public or private job (63%); 16% of participants had poor health self-perception. Poor self-perceived health was associated with being female, having solely public healthcare system access, perceiving housing conditions as inadequate, living with cohabitants requiring care, perceiving difficulties in coping with work or managing household chores, COVID-19 infection, chronic disease, and depression symptoms were significantly and independently associated with poor self-reported health status. For women, self-employment, having solely public healthcare system access, perceiving housing conditions as inadequate, having cohabitants requiring care, having very high difficulties to cope with household chores, having COVID-19, and having a chronic disease increased the likelihood of having poor self-reported health status. For men, poor or inadequate housing, presence of any chronic disease, and depression increased the likelihood of having poor self-reported health status.
Conclusion
Being female, having solely public healthcare system access, perceiving housing conditions as inadequate, living with cohabitants requiring care, perceiving difficulties in coping with work or managing household chores, COVID-19 infection, chronic disease, and depression symptoms were significantly and independently associated with poor self-reported health status in Ecuadorian population.
Objetivo
Construir y comparar el ranking de los programas nacionales de inmunizaciones (PNI) de América Latina del año 2020 con el año anterior.
Métodos
Se evaluaron 18 PNI con base en la información pública obtenida de sitios oficiales de los ministerios de salud de los países, la Organización Mundial de la Salud, la Organización Panamericana de la Salud, el Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia y referentes locales. El ranking se elaboró con base en el calendario de vacunación del año 2020 en distintas etapas de la vida, situaciones especiales, vacunación antigripal, coberturas vacunales (CV) del 2019 y aspectos programáticos.
Resultados
Las CV disminuyeron en la mayoría de los países. El puntaje promedio regional y de la mayoría de los países también bajó en el 2020 excepto en Chile y Colombia. Chile lidera el ranking , seguido por Uruguay, Panamá y Costa Rica, y se destaca por su calendario completo, mayores CV y logros programáticos.
Conclusiones
El menor puntaje global del 2020 resalta que es necesario recuperar la CV en la Región. Este análisis busca motivar a los países a abordar los desafíos pendientes.
Immunization is an action that provides immunity to individuals so that when exposed to a disease they will only experience mild illness or no pain. Immunizations are carried out mainly in children. Immunizations carried out on children are basic immunization and advanced immunization. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, immunization cannot run properly. This study aims to find out about the achievements of basic and follow-up immunizations between before, during, and the transition period of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Cempaka Putih sub-district. Research Methods: This research is an observational descriptive study in the work area of the Cempaka Putih District Health Center. The research sample in this study was a history of basic and follow-up immunizations from children living in the working area of the Cempaka Putih District Health Center. The results showed that the achievement of basic immunization and children under two in 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) reached the target, then in 2020 (pandemic COVID-19) the achievement of basic immunization and children under two did not meet the target. In 2021 (COVID-19 pandemic) the achievement of basic and under-five immunizations reached the target, then in 2022 (COVID-19 transition period) the achievement of basic and under-five immunizations was achieved.
The landscape of pediatric vaccination has changed dramatically due to changing attitudes toward immunizations and recent world events. The rise of vaccine hesitancy and refusal related to the concurrent rise of social media and anti-vaccination messages with misinformation campaigns have led to populations of children being unimmunized or under-immunized. These populations have been left vulnerable to the rapid spread of vaccine-preventable infection. Additionally, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the clinical syndrome known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in the emergence of a worldwide pandemic. Control measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 resulted in numerous reports of children missing routine vaccines along with the stopping of many public health immunization programs. Finally, armed conflicts and war have led to large family migrations from their homelands to various countries and regions leading to increased risk for missed maternal and child immunization as well as difficulty in keeping vaccination records. [Pediatr Ann. 2022;51(11):e426-e430.].
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health systems globally. We estimated the effect of the pandemic on the coverage and timeliness of routine childhood immunization in India through April 2021.
Methods
We used data from India’s National Family Health Survey 2019-2021 (NFHS-5), a cross-sectional survey which collected immunization information of under-five children from a nationally representative sample of households between June 2019 and April 2021. We used a mother fixed-effects regression model – accounting for secular trends and confounding factors – to compare COVID-affected children with their COVID-unaffected siblings (n=59,144). Children who were eligible for a vaccine after January 30, 2020 (date of the first COVID case in India) were considered as the COVID-affected group and those eligible for a vaccine after this date were included in the COVID-unaffected group. Coverage of the following vaccine doses was considered—Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG), hepatitis B birth dose (hepB0), DPT1 (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, first dose), DPT2, DPT3, polio1, polio2, polio3, and measles first dose (MCV1). Indicators of vaccine coverage and vaccine timeliness (defined as receiving a dose within 45 days of minimum eligibility age) were separately examined.
Findings
Immunization coverage was lower in COVID-affected children as compared with unaffected children, ranging from 2% lower for BCG and hepB0 to 9% for DPT3 and 10% for polio3. There was no significant difference in MCV1 coverage. Coverage reduction was greater for vaccines doses given at later age groups. The rate of timely receipt of polio and DPT vaccine doses was 3%-5% lower among COVID-affected children relative to unaffected children. Among population subgroups, COVID-affected male children and those from rural areas experienced the highest reduction in vaccine coverage.
Interpretation
Children in India experienced lower routine immunization coverage and greater delays in immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
