Covid-19: pediatricians warn about the drop in vaccination coverage for other diseases

The Argentine Society of Pediatrics (SAP) warned that, due to the confinement and saturation of the health system due to the health emergency situation caused by Covid-19, many children and adolescents did not receive strategic vaccines for vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, hepatitis B or cervical cancer. This increases the risk of new outbreaks and infections. About one and a half million children under one year in Latin America do not complete their vaccination schedule in a timely manner, as revealed by the Pan American Health Organization (OPS).

“In 2020, no vaccine on the calendar exceeded the value of 80% coverage at the national level,” he highlighted. Maria Florence Lucionpediatrician and president of the SAP Epidemiology Subcommittee, and warned that optimal vaccination is considered to exceed 95% of the inoculated population.

It is not the first time that experts have warned about the decline in calendar vaccination. Last July, Uniceftogether with World Health Organization (WHO), pointed out that in 2020 around 23 million children around the world did not have access to essential vaccines, 3.7 million more than in 2019. In this way, Argentina was in the ninth place in nations that saw the largest increase in the number of children who did not receive a first dose of the DTP (against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough) vaccine from 2019 to 2020, with 156,000 unprotected children.

“The vaccines most affected in our country by this decrease in coverage are the quintuple (whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis B and invasive disease by Haemophilus influenzae b), inactivated polio, rotavirus (against severe diarrhea), pneumococcus (pneumonia and meningitis), triple viral (measles, mumps and rubella), hepatitis A, chickenpox and meningococcus”, they affirmed from the SAP. Regarding adolescents, the most affected is the vaccine against VPH (genital lesions and cervical cancer), followed by meningococcus and reinforcements corresponding to diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough included in the national immunization calendar, free and compulsory.

The pediatric infectologist Elizabeth Bogdanowicz, a member of the SAP Pediatric Infectology Committee, noted the risk of “the reappearance of diseases that have been controlled.” He referred to bacterial meningitis, fulminant hepatitis or tetanus. “These are diseases that can reappear in the absence of adequate and safe coverage. In addition, there is the added risk of reintroduction of diseases already controlled by vaccination in our country, such as measles. But if the coverage against these diseases is not maintained at around 95%, we run that risk, considering that Brazil has measles circulation and we maintain a strong interaction with the country. It is a very serious concern,” he added.

“The decrease in vaccination in general is multicausal, but in the last two years the arrival of the pandemic, confinement, difficulties in moving, the decrease in pediatric consultations, the suspension of classes and the fear of contagion by Covid -19; have contributed greatly,” he warned THE NATION Maximiliano Nittoresponsible for the Area of ​​Health, Social Action, Education and Culture of the Office of the National Ombudsman.

A scenario that increases concern is the approximation of the beginning of the school year in person. “The return of classes is a great opportunity to recover and complete the vaccination schedules of our national calendar. The return of children and adolescents to the classroom is always an opportunity for them to become consultations with the pediatriciana general health check-up and, if necessary, completion of pending vaccination schedules,” Nitto said.

“We have to improve the accessibility and approach of vaccines to boys and to recover vaccination in adolescents to take care of their long-term health, for example, against HPV”, highlighted Bogdanowicz.

Therefore, from the SAP they claim measures such as: extended hours at vaccination centers, taking advantage of each patient contact with the health system to control inoculation schemes, coordinating actions with schools, promoting continuous training for professionals and disseminating clear, timely and reliable information to the community. adequate. They also advise paediatricians and staff at vaccination clinics “to first apply the vaccines that immunize against the highest-risk pathology in relation to the child’s age and the epidemiology of their environment.”

As for the decreased confidence in vaccines Among the population under 40 years of age, Nitto insisted: “Confidence in health is essential, although we do not always have enough information to allow us to decide appropriately.” And he added: “The vaccine is an opportunity for children and adolescents to develop disease-free that can cause serious disability or even death.

“For this reason, we believe that it is essential that there are regular visits to the doctor’s office and that parents can evacuate their consultations in order to comply with the national vaccination schedule,” he added.

“It is essential to seek qualified information, with scientific evidence that comes from reliable sources such as scientific societies, peer-reviewed publications. Health workers must redouble efforts, update incomplete calendarstalk to our patients, provide them with this information and respond to their concerns to clear up all kinds of doubts,” said Lución.

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