07/10/2023
Half of the meningococcal vaccine appointments that are due have been postponed or canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the result of an international survey.
© Dmitry Lobanov – Fotolia.com
A cross-national survey found that 50% of meningitis vaccination appointments have been postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results were published in the journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. According to the authors of the article, this underlines the need for “urgent measures” to promote the timely implementation of all recommended vaccinations in children. Half of the vaccinations during the pandemic were not given within the window recommended by the immunization committees because parents postponed the appointment or did not do it at all.
Fear of infection kept parents from visiting the practice
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on recommended childhood immunizations due to multiple factors including lockdowns and fears of contagion.
Invasive meningococcal disease can result in permanent disability and death. Meningococcal disease is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis. There are different subgroups. In Germany, children can be vaccinated against the 5 most common subgroups (A, B, C, W, Y). The Standing Vaccination Committee (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recommends routine vaccination of all children aged 12 months against group C meningococci Received meningococcal AC-W135-Y conjugate vaccine. The STIKO advises children without a spleen or after a spleen removal or with certain immune deficiencies to be vaccinated against meningococci B.
With vaccination rates declining during the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey results highlight the importance of continuing vaccination against infectious diseases during a pandemic.
Interviews conducted between January 19, 2021 and February 16, 2021 were attended by 4962 guardians (53.9% identified as female) of children aged 0 to 4 years from the UK, France, Germany, Italy , Brazil, Argentina and Australia, and parents of teenagers aged 11 to 18 from the United States. Different vaccination schedules led to different age groups in the US. All parents who participated in the survey were at least 18 years old and had either sole or joint custody of their children.
The survey found that 83% of parents felt it was important that their children continue to receive recommended vaccinations, including meningitis vaccinations, during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, half of the scheduled meningitis vaccination appointments have been canceled or rescheduled during the pandemic. In addition, 21% of parents had no intention of rescheduling these appointments.
For other vaccinations, the interviewees indicated that they behaved similarly to the meningitis vaccinations. Almost half of all parents surveyed reported that they had postponed or canceled a doctor’s appointment due to the pandemic.
During the pandemic, more than one in two parents who took part in the survey had no concerns about getting vaccinated against meningitis during this period. However, the results also showed that half of the parents were concerned about social distancing and the increased risk of their children contracting COVID-19.
Pandemic weakened confidence in vaccinations
The pandemic has caused several guardians to be hesitant about vaccinations overall. When asked “After the COVID-19 pandemic, I am now less confident about the safety of vaccines in general” 16% of parents totally agreed and 18% tended to agree.
The authors assume that this could lead to greater vaccination reluctance after the pandemic, which could have a negative impact on vaccination coverage worldwide. “A resurgence of vaccine-preventable infections that have been eliminated or controlled, such as measles, rubella, diphtheria, whooping cough and polio, and which are associated with high morbidity and mortality in children is a real threat,” write the expert team. It believes that “urgent action is needed [sind]to maintain immunization rates and further reduce the incidence of vaccine-preventable infections and diseases.”
Sources: contemporarypediatrics.com, Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics