Connecting Research to Development, Beirut, Lebanon.
World Health Organization Lebanon Country Office, Beirut, Lebanon.
PLoS One. 2021 Feb 17;16(2):e0246951. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246951. eCollection 2021.
The global abrupt progression of the COVID-19 pandemic may disrupt critical life-saving services such as routine immunization (RI), thus increasing the susceptibility of countries to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). Being endemic to several infectious diseases, Lebanon might be at increased risk of outbreaks as the utilization of RI services might have deteriorated due to the pandemic and the country's political unrest following the October 2019 uprising. The aim of this study was to assess the changes in the utilization of RI services in both the public and private sectors following the COVID-19 pandemic.
A self-administered cross-sectional survey was completed electronically, in April 2020, by 345 private pediatricians who are registered in professional associations of physicians in Lebanon and provide immunization services at their clinics. Means of the reported percentages of decrease in the utilization of vaccination services by pediatricians were calculated. As for the public sector, an examination of the monthly differences in the number of administered vaccine doses in addition to their respective percentages of change was performed. Adjustment for the distribution of RI services between the sectors was performed to calculate the national decrease rate.
The utilization of vaccination services at the national level decreased by 31%. In the private sector, immunization services provision diminished by 46.9% mainly between February and April 2020. The highest decrease rates were observed for oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) and hepatitis A, followed by measles and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. The number of vaccine doses administered in the public sector decreased by 20%. The most prominent reductions were detected for the OPV and measles vaccines, and during October 2019 and March 2020.
The substantial decrease in the utilization of RI as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic requires public health interventions to prevent future outbreaks of VPDs.
COVID-19 大流行在全球的迅速蔓延可能会扰乱常规免疫接种（RI）等关键的救生服务，从而增加各国爆发疫苗可预防疾病（VPD）的风险。黎巴嫩由于存在几种传染病，可能会面临更高的爆发风险，因为由于大流行以及 2019 年 10 月起义后的国家政治动荡， RI 服务的利用率可能已经恶化。本研究旨在评估 COVID-19 大流行后公共和私营部门 RI 服务的利用变化。
2020 年 4 月，通过电子方式向在黎巴嫩专业医师协会注册并在其诊所提供免疫服务的 345 名私人儿科医生进行了自我管理的横断面调查。计算了报告的儿科医生接种服务利用率降低百分比的平均值。至于公共部门，对每月接种疫苗剂量的差异以及各自的变化百分比进行了检查。为了计算全国下降率，对部门之间 RI 服务的分布进行了调整。
国家一级疫苗接种服务的利用率下降了 31%。在私营部门，免疫服务的提供在 2020 年 2 月至 4 月之间减少了 46.9%。降幅最大的是口服脊髓灰质炎疫苗（OPV）和甲型肝炎，其次是麻疹和肺炎球菌结合疫苗。公共部门接种的疫苗剂量减少了 20%。OPV 和麻疹疫苗的降幅最大，发生在 2019 年 10 月和 2020 年 3 月。
由于 COVID-19 大流行， RI 的利用率大幅下降，需要采取公共卫生干预措施，以防止未来爆发 VPD。
