A systematic review on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunisation programmes of West African countries.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunisation programmes in West African Countries.

DESIGN

The study was a systematic review of available evidence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunisation programmes in West Africa.

SETTING

An online literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science for all peer-reviewed longitudinal, descriptive, observational, prospective and retrospective studies on childhood immunisation programmes in West Africa published between January 2020 and May 2022.

PARTICIPANTS

All West African childhood immunisation programmes.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Change in immunisation volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

353 studies were identified during the literature search, and eight were included in this review. The studies comprised six quantitative studies, one mixed-method (quantitative/qualitative) study and one qualitative study. Changes to immunisation services ranged between 53% and 52% for MCV and Penta3 vaccines in Guinea, lasting longer than August 2020, to 0.3% and 1% in Liberia for BCG and MCV vaccines lasting no longer than May 2020. Factors contributing to the observed disruptions in vaccine coverage during the pandemic included the fear of contracting the virus expressed by caregivers and healthcare workers and general misinformation about the COVID-19 virus.

CONCLUSION

While the changes were greater than 50% and lasted longer in some countries, they were brief and short-lived in others, emphasising that the COVID-19 pandemic's effect in each country differed.

FUNDING

This work did not receive any external funding and was entirely self-funded.