Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to healthcare services in almost all the world, impacting national and international public health. Routine childhood immunization may be adversely affected by COVID-19 mitigation measures. This study aimed to assess the changes in the utilization of routine childhood immunization services in Aden by comparing the vaccination coverage between year 2019 and during COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 as well as 2021.

Methods: An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Aden city. Data of children vaccinated by the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG), Penta1, Penta3 and Measles-Containing Vaccine (MCV1) as per the National Immunization Schedule for the period April - December during 2019, 2020 and 2021 were retrieved from the immunization records. Doses of these antigens administered were assessed as a proxy measure of vaccine coverage. The vaccination trends of 2019, 2020 and 2021 were compared assuming base year 2019.

Results: A significant drop in the total vaccines' doses after emergence of COVID-19 pandemic was reported in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. The maximum drop was seen in July, May, June and April while the minimum drop was found in September, October and August of 2020 and 2021. The mean vaccination coverage showed a decline from 86.80% in 2019 to 72.60% and 65.60% in 2020 and 2021 respectively. A drop-out rate between BCG and Penta3 during the pre-pandemic period was 30.9% and during the post-pandemic period was 33.3% in 2020 and 39.1% in 2021 while the drop-out rate between the BCG and MCV1 during the pre-pandemic period was 24.5% compared to 32.1% in 2020 and 33.3% in 2021.

Conclusion: The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the childhood utilization of routine immuni­zation services was clear and tangible with the reported decrease in the utilization. This is a concerning issue that increases the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases which necessitates planning and management of routine immunization services in-case of future pandemics to avoid resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Keywords: COVID-19, Immunization Services, Dropout Rate, Aden.Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to healthcare services in almost all the world, impacting national and international public health. Routine childhood immunization may be adversely affected by COVID-19 mitigation measures. This study aimed to assess the changes in the utilization of routine childhood immunization services in Aden by comparing the vaccination coverage between year 2019 and during COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 as well as 2021.

Methods: An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Aden city. Data of children vaccinated by the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG), Penta1, Penta3 and Measles-Containing Vaccine (MCV1) as per the National Immunization Schedule for the period April - December during 2019, 2020 and 2021 were retrieved from the immunization records. Doses of these antigens administered were assessed as a proxy measure of vaccine coverage. The vaccination trends of 2019, 2020 and 2021 were compared assuming base year 2019.

Results: A significant drop in the total vaccines' doses after emergence of COVID-19 pandemic was reported in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. The maximum drop was seen in July, May, June and April while the minimum drop was found in September, October and August of 2020 and 2021. The mean vaccination coverage showed a decline from 86.80% in 2019 to 72.60% and 65.60% in 2020 and 2021 respectively. A drop-out rate between BCG and Penta3 during the pre-pandemic period was 30.9% and during the post-pandemic period was 33.3% in 2020 and 39.1% in 2021 while the drop-out rate between the BCG and MCV1 during the pre-pandemic period was 24.5% compared to 32.1% in 2020 and 33.3% in 2021.

Conclusion: The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the childhood utilization of routine immuni­zation services was clear and tangible with the reported decrease in the utilization. This is a concerning issue that increases the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases which necessitates planning and management of routine immunization services in-case of future pandemics to avoid resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Keywords: COVID-19, Immunization Services, Dropout Rate, Aden.

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