Peer-reviewed article
IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE ON THE UPTAKE OF ROUTINE CHILDHOOD IMMUNISATION AT A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE IN MUMBAI.
Misba Sayed, Varada Dileep Mithbhavkar, Anjali Mall ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how COVID-19 pandemic responses affected routine childhood immunisation services at a tertiary care centre in Mumbai, India. Researchers compared immunisation records from 2019 and 2020, and interviewed guardians about barriers to vaccination. They found a 24.62% decline in immunisations during 2020, with fear of COVID-19 infection and lockdown-related restrictions being the main reasons guardians delayed or missed vaccinations. The study highlights the need to maintain immunisation services during public health emergencies.
Key points
- 24.62% decline in routine childhood immunisations administered in 2020 compared to 2019 (statistically significant)
- Fear of COVID-19 infection was the most common reason for missed/delayed immunisations (45.9% of guardians)
- Migration to hometown due to lockdown (13.11%) and travel restrictions (9.84%) were significant barriers
- 63.16% of guardians interviewed reported delayed or missed immunisations
- Study calls for prioritising immunisation services and implementing strategies to maintain coverage during pandemics
Limitations
The study is based on data from a single tertiary care centre in Mumbai, which may not be representative of immunisation patterns across India or other settings. The interview period (December 2020 to January 2021) captures only one snapshot of the pandemic response, and guardians' recall of reasons for missed immunisations may be subject to bias.
Abstract
Background The COVID-19 pandemic response has impacted the delivery of healthcare, including routine childhood immunisation. This manuscript studies the extent of this impact. To assess the decline in daily average routine childhood immunisation uptake compared toObjectives the baseline level and to assess the problems faced by the beneciaries in accessing the immunisation services during the pandemic period at a tertiary care centre in Mumbai. Data of daily routine childhood immunisations in the year 2019 and 2020 was collected from theMethods immunisation records register of Child Welfare Centre (CWC) of the tertiary care centre. The baseline (2019) and the COVID-19 lockdown period data were compared to analyse the impact on daily routine childhood immunisation uptake. Guardians of beneciaries visiting the CWC from 24 December 2020 to 23 January 2021 were interviewed using a questionnaire to study the causes of delayed/missed immunisations. ThereResults was 24.62% decline (p<0.05) in the number of immunisations administered in 2020 compared to 2019. Fear of COVID-19 infection (45.9%), migration to hometown due to lockdown (13.11%), travelling restrictions during lockdown (9.84%) and miscellaneous reasons (31.15%) were the reasons given by the 93 guardians interviewed for delayed/missed immunisations (63.16%). COVID-19 pandemic response has led toConclusion a disruption in immunisation services, leading to a drop in uptake. Childhood immunisation and implementation of strategies to achieve signicant immunisation coverage should be prioritised during pandemics.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Assessment of barriers to immunisation access during COVID-19 lockdown period; no intervention was implemented
- Population
- Children attending a tertiary care centre in Mumbai, and guardians of beneficiaries (n=93 interviewed)
Key finding
24.62% decline in daily average routine childhood immunisations in 2020 versus 2019 (p<0.05)