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Impact that the COVID‐19 pandemic on routine childhood vaccinations and challenges ahead: A narrative review
Author(s) -
Chiappini Elena,
Parigi Sara,
Galli Luisa,
Licari Amelia,
Brambilla Ilaria,
Angela Tosca Maria,
Ciprandi Giorgio,
Marseglia Gianluigi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.15949
Subject(s) - medicine , vaccination , measles , poliomyelitis , pandemic , public health , rubella , diphtheria , vaccine preventable diseases , epidemiology , environmental health , pediatrics , outbreak , family medicine , covid-19 , disease , immunology , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , nursing , pathology
Aim To document the decline in vaccination coverage in the first months of 2020 as an indirect effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods We performed a literature review in medical databases. Overall, 143 articles were initially retrieved, out of which 48 were selected and included in the review. Results Our review retrieved similar data in many countries worldwide, and, globally, preliminary data from the first 4 months of 2020 indicate a decline in diphtheria‐tetanus‐pertussis coverage, generally considered the marker of vaccination coverage across countries. World Health Organization recommends maintaining vaccination services, prioritising primary series vaccinations especially for measles‐rubella or poliomyelitis, but it also lets each country decide whether to maintain the immunisation services evaluating the current epidemiology of vaccine‐preventable diseases and the COVID‐19 local transmission scenario. Successively, recovering of vaccinations should be planned. Moreover, during the pandemic, influenza vaccination should be promoted as a central public health measure. Conclusion Future challenges will be to maintain the vaccination programmes, especially in children younger than 2 years old and adolescents, to plan the recovery of vaccinations for subjects who postponed them during the lockdown, and to early identify any vaccine‐preventable disease outbreak.