Impact of COVID19 on Routine Immunization: A Cross-Sectional Study in Senegal

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID 19 pandemic has prompted the world to implement drastic prevention methods based on limiting population movements that have an impact on public health policies such as vaccination. The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of these prevention measures on routine vaccination in hospitals since the advent of the pandemic in Senegal. Methodology: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study carried out in August 2020 in the vaccination unit of the Abass NDAO hospital centre. We compared data from the vaccination unit during the period from March to August of the last three years (2018, 2019 and 2020). The parameter studied was the number of vaccine doses administered for the different periods according to the expanded programme of immunization. Results: For the vaccines administered in the sixth week in April, the number of doses was 36 in 2018, 29 in 2019 and 15 in 2020, i.e. a 50% drop compared to March. In July the number of doses administered was 40 in 2018, 35 in 2019 and 15 in 2020, a reduction of 42% compared to 2019. Conclusion: Measures to fight this pandemic should not make us forget routine vaccination, especially in our resource-constrained countries. It is essential to continue vaccination for children and to identify children who have missed vaccine doses for catch-up.