Peer-reviewed article
COVID-19-related disruptions and measles vaccination uptake among children attending urban health centers in Guelmim, Morocco: a cross-sectional study.
Abdelghani Asraoui, Abdelmajid Soulaymani ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined measles vaccination rates among children in Guelmim, Morocco, finding that only 44% of children aged 0-59 months were vaccinated against measles. The research identified that COVID-19 pandemic disruptions, vaccine misinformation, lack of trust in public health services, and access difficulties were all significantly associated with lower vaccination uptake. Catch-up vaccination campaigns were found to be strongly associated with improved coverage.
Key points
- Measles vaccination uptake was only 44.29% among children in urban Guelmim health centers
- Delaying vaccination during COVID-19 was significantly associated with lower uptake (27.27% vs 69.61% for those with no delay)
- Missing a measles dose during the pandemic reduced uptake to 28.64% compared to 67.96% for those who did not miss doses
- Lack of vaccine information (28.19% vs 73.98%) and lack of trust in public health vaccines (28.29% vs 68.92%) were significant barriers
- Receipt of a measles catch-up dose was strongly associated with vaccination uptake at 82.79%
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study limited to three urban health centers in one city, so findings may not represent rural areas or all of Morocco. The study relied on maternal self-report of vaccination status without verification by health records, which may introduce recall bias.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine immunization services and may have widened measles immunity gaps. Morocco has experienced a widespread measles outbreak since late 2023. This study assessed the association between COVID-19-related disruptions and measles vaccination uptake among children in Guelmim, Morocco, and described additional informational and access barriers. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2025 in three urban public health centers in Guelmim. Using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, data were collected from 350 mothers of children aged 0-59 months. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's chi-square tests were used to examine associations between child measles vaccination status and COVID-19-related, informational, and access-related factors. RESULTS: Only 44.29% of children were reported as vaccinated against measles. Lower uptake was significantly associated with delaying child vaccination during COVID-19 (27.27% vaccinated vs. 69.61% among those reporting no delay; p < 0.001), missing a measles dose during the pandemic (28.64% vs. 67.96%; p < 0.001), insufficient vaccine information (28.19% vs. 73.98%; p < 0.001), lack of trust in vaccines offered by the public health system (28.29% vs. 68.92%; p < 0.001), difficulty accessing vaccination services (35.88% vs. 69.32%; p < 0.001), and lack of information on post-pandemic vaccination dates (25.00% vs. 68.83%; p < 0.001). Receipt of a measles catch-up dose was strongly associated with vaccination uptake (82.79% among those receiving catch-up; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this urban sample, measles vaccination uptake was low and was associated with both COVID-19-related service disruptions and broader informational, trust, and access barriers. Strengthening catch-up activities, service communication, and trust-building strategies may help close immunity gaps in similar settings.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Measles catch-up vaccination campaigns and strengthened service communication and trust-building strategies
- Population
- Children aged 0-59 months attending urban public health centers in Guelmim, Morocco (n=350 mother-child pairs)
Key finding
Receipt of a measles catch-up dose was strongly associated with vaccination uptake at 82.79% (p < 0.001)