einstein (São Paulo). 15/Dec/2021;19:eED6552.
Declining rates of global routine vaccination coverage amidst the COVID-19 syndemic: a serious public health concern
Uzzam Ahmed Khawaja
, Thomas Franchi
, Paolo Pedersini
, Marcos Roberto Tovani-Palone
DOI: 10.31744/einstein_journal/2021ED6552
At the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began to spread in the city of Wuhan, China, causing an outbreak of a highly transmissible and potentially severe viral pneumonia. This novel coronavirus disease, known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), rapidly advanced all over the globe and was considered a pandemic in March 2020.( , ) However, in a recent article, COVID-19 has been redefined as a syndemic, since a background of social and economic disparity increased the adverse effects of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, together with several non-communicable diseases.( ) In an effort to reduce the increasing morbidity and mortality rates of COVID-19 across the world, societies are trying to limit the routine utilization of healthcare facilities, to reduce the associated deleterious impacts.( , )
The disease has halted many usual activities, such as commerce, travel and healthcare services. Amid global lockdowns, daily healthcare services and elective surgical procedures have been cancelled across multiple healthcare settings. Furthermore, healthcare workers have been retrained and redeployed to prioritize the provision of care to clinically deteriorating COVID-19 patients. Simultaneously, the syndemic has interrupted routine immunization practices across all age groups, particularly for the pediatric population. Delays, reorganization or suspension of these routine vaccinations may lead to a surge in numbers of infections and subsequent deaths due to vaccine-preventable diseases. Part of the population may also become susceptible to diseases that were previously controlled or eradicated.( ) Prevention and control measures to avoid spread of COVID-19 have hindered child and mass immunization efforts globally, placing millions of children at risk of other potentially fatal vaccine-preventable diseases.( ) The most affected vaccination campaigns include those for measles, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and meningitis. Therefore, some vaccine-preventable diseases are now making a comeback, thereby putting local populations at risk.( )
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