Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine pediatric vaccination in Brazil

Santos, Victor Santana, Vieira, Sarah Cristina Fontes, Barreto, Ikaro Daniel de Carvalho, de Gois-Santos, Vanessa Tavares, Celestino, Ariel Oliveira, Domingues, Carla, Cuevas, Luis ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6581-0587 and Gurgel, Ricardo Queiroz (2021) 'Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine pediatric vaccination in Brazil'. Expert review of vaccines, Vol 20, Issue 12, pp. 1661-1666.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND
COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health services, including vaccination demand. We describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine pediatric vaccination in Brazil.
METHODS
We conducted a retrospective analysis of all vaccine doses provided to children aged 0-6 years from January 2019 to December 2020. We obtained data stratified by age group (0 to 2 years and >2 to 6 years) and Brazilian region. Difference-in-difference (DiD) analyses were performed to compare vaccine uptake in the pre-pandemic (January-February), stay-at-home (March-June), and reopening (July-December) periods.
RESULTS
The number of vaccine doses administered declined in the stay-at-home period. For children aged 0 to 2 years, the highest reductions were recorded in the North (-25.3%), Northeast (-16.8%) and Central-West (-10.2%) regions. For children aged >2 to 6 years, the highest decline was observed in the North (DiD = -27.2%) and South (DiD = -14.0%) regions. The number of vaccine doses administered in the reopening period has slightly increased in all regions.
CONCLUSIONS
Vaccination decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the number of doses recovered in part during the reopening phase, additional strategies, such as increased public awareness and vaccination booster campaigns are required.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	QW Microbiology and Immunology > Immunotherapy and Hypersensitivity > QW 806 Vaccination WA Public Health > Health Problems of Special Population Groups > WA 320 Child Welfare. Child Health Services. WA Public Health > Health Problems of Special Population Groups > WA 395 Health in developing countries WC Communicable Diseases > Virus Diseases > Viral Respiratory Tract Infections. Respirovirus Infections > WC 505 Viral respiratory tract infections
Faculty: Department:	Clinical Sciences & International Health > Clinical Sciences Department
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2021.1990045
Depositing User:	Julie Franco
Date Deposited:	30 Nov 2021 15:28
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2022 01:02
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/19541

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