Evaluation of the impact of the state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunizations in Benguela Province, Angola
Abstract Background The impact of public health measures against the coronavirus disease 2019 on the rate of childhood immunization has not yet been fully defined. Particularly, measures which directly affect health-seeking behaviors (e.g., the State of Emergency; SoE) drew public health attention....
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Tropical Medicine and Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-024-00668-3 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832594440849457152 |
|---|---|
| author | Tadatsugu Imamura Keiji Mochida Balogun Olukunmi Lino Tchicondingosse Pedro Sapalalo Ketha Rubuz Francisco Ai Aoki Akira Ishiguro Kenji Takehara |
| author_facet | Tadatsugu Imamura Keiji Mochida Balogun Olukunmi Lino Tchicondingosse Pedro Sapalalo Ketha Rubuz Francisco Ai Aoki Akira Ishiguro Kenji Takehara |
| author_sort | Tadatsugu Imamura |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The impact of public health measures against the coronavirus disease 2019 on the rate of childhood immunization has not yet been fully defined. Particularly, measures which directly affect health-seeking behaviors (e.g., the State of Emergency; SoE) drew public health attention. We aim to describe this impact in Benguela Province, Angola, by comparing the immunization rates between infants who had their immunizations before and after the SoE, which was declared on March 27, 2020. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the epidemiological data of infants born between November 2019 and February 2020 in Benguela Province, Angola. Immunization rates (i.e., the number of immunized infants divided by the number of infants in the group of same months of birth and residential areas) were calculated for 11 vaccines that infants received from at birth to the 4th month after birth. The rates for the 2nd month vaccines were compared between infants immunized before the SoE (post-SoE), and after the SoE (pre-SoE). Results Among 9,595 infants, the overall immunization rates were higher in the post-SoE (71.9–77.8%) than in the pre-SoE groups (66.0–73.8%). The overall immunization rates were higher in the post-SoE group than in the pre-SoE group in both urban and rural municipalities, although the rates were > 20% higher in urban than in rural municipalities. The immunization rates in the recommended month showed a similar trend, except for the stratified analysis for rural municipalities, where the rates were 2.3–4.1% lower in the post-SoE than in the pre-SoE groups. The most common reason for missing immunization was vaccine unavailability at health units (19.9%, 684/3,440). Less than 10% of missed immunizations were due to the SoE, which occurred mostly in infants born in rural municipalities in February 2020 (9.8%, 52/532). Less than 2% of missed immunizations were due to health units not being open, and was highest in rural municipalities in January 2020 (1.6%, 27/1,673). Conclusions Our study suggested that the disruptive impacts of public health measures against pandemics on rates of childhood immunization can be mitigated, and support is needed for areas with vulnerable health systems, such as rural areas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cc160e4bdcdd49bba5ce4d9a09aab146 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1349-4147 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tropical Medicine and Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-cc160e4bdcdd49bba5ce4d9a09aab1462025-01-19T12:39:10ZengBMCTropical Medicine and Health1349-41472025-01-015311710.1186/s41182-024-00668-3Evaluation of the impact of the state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunizations in Benguela Province, AngolaTadatsugu Imamura0Keiji Mochida1Balogun Olukunmi2Lino Tchicondingosse3Pedro Sapalalo4Ketha Rubuz Francisco5Ai Aoki6Akira Ishiguro7Kenji Takehara8Center for Postgraduate Training and Education, National Center for Child Health and DevelopmentDepartment of Health Policy, National Center for Child Health and DevelopmentDepartment of Health Policy, National Center for Child Health and DevelopmentDomus Custodius (SU) Lda, Tchikos AgencyDomus Custodius (SU) Lda, Tchikos AgencyNational Directorate of Public Health, Ministry of HealthDepartment of Health Policy, National Center for Child Health and DevelopmentCenter for Postgraduate Training and Education, National Center for Child Health and DevelopmentDepartment of Health Policy, National Center for Child Health and DevelopmentAbstract Background The impact of public health measures against the coronavirus disease 2019 on the rate of childhood immunization has not yet been fully defined. Particularly, measures which directly affect health-seeking behaviors (e.g., the State of Emergency; SoE) drew public health attention. We aim to describe this impact in Benguela Province, Angola, by comparing the immunization rates between infants who had their immunizations before and after the SoE, which was declared on March 27, 2020. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the epidemiological data of infants born between November 2019 and February 2020 in Benguela Province, Angola. Immunization rates (i.e., the number of immunized infants divided by the number of infants in the group of same months of birth and residential areas) were calculated for 11 vaccines that infants received from at birth to the 4th month after birth. The rates for the 2nd month vaccines were compared between infants immunized before the SoE (post-SoE), and after the SoE (pre-SoE). Results Among 9,595 infants, the overall immunization rates were higher in the post-SoE (71.9–77.8%) than in the pre-SoE groups (66.0–73.8%). The overall immunization rates were higher in the post-SoE group than in the pre-SoE group in both urban and rural municipalities, although the rates were > 20% higher in urban than in rural municipalities. The immunization rates in the recommended month showed a similar trend, except for the stratified analysis for rural municipalities, where the rates were 2.3–4.1% lower in the post-SoE than in the pre-SoE groups. The most common reason for missing immunization was vaccine unavailability at health units (19.9%, 684/3,440). Less than 10% of missed immunizations were due to the SoE, which occurred mostly in infants born in rural municipalities in February 2020 (9.8%, 52/532). Less than 2% of missed immunizations were due to health units not being open, and was highest in rural municipalities in January 2020 (1.6%, 27/1,673). Conclusions Our study suggested that the disruptive impacts of public health measures against pandemics on rates of childhood immunization can be mitigated, and support is needed for areas with vulnerable health systems, such as rural areas.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-024-00668-3COVID-19PandemicsImmunization programsCohort studiesAngola |
| spellingShingle | Tadatsugu Imamura Keiji Mochida Balogun Olukunmi Lino Tchicondingosse Pedro Sapalalo Ketha Rubuz Francisco Ai Aoki Akira Ishiguro Kenji Takehara Evaluation of the impact of the state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunizations in Benguela Province, Angola Tropical Medicine and Health COVID-19 Pandemics Immunization programs Cohort studies Angola |
| title | Evaluation of the impact of the state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunizations in Benguela Province, Angola |
| title_full | Evaluation of the impact of the state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunizations in Benguela Province, Angola |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the impact of the state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunizations in Benguela Province, Angola |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the impact of the state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunizations in Benguela Province, Angola |
| title_short | Evaluation of the impact of the state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood immunizations in Benguela Province, Angola |
| title_sort | evaluation of the impact of the state of emergency during the covid 19 pandemic on childhood immunizations in benguela province angola |
| topic | COVID-19 Pandemics Immunization programs Cohort studies Angola |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-024-00668-3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tadatsuguimamura evaluationoftheimpactofthestateofemergencyduringthecovid19pandemiconchildhoodimmunizationsinbenguelaprovinceangola AT keijimochida evaluationoftheimpactofthestateofemergencyduringthecovid19pandemiconchildhoodimmunizationsinbenguelaprovinceangola AT balogunolukunmi evaluationoftheimpactofthestateofemergencyduringthecovid19pandemiconchildhoodimmunizationsinbenguelaprovinceangola AT linotchicondingosse evaluationoftheimpactofthestateofemergencyduringthecovid19pandemiconchildhoodimmunizationsinbenguelaprovinceangola AT pedrosapalalo evaluationoftheimpactofthestateofemergencyduringthecovid19pandemiconchildhoodimmunizationsinbenguelaprovinceangola AT ketharubuzfrancisco evaluationoftheimpactofthestateofemergencyduringthecovid19pandemiconchildhoodimmunizationsinbenguelaprovinceangola AT aiaoki evaluationoftheimpactofthestateofemergencyduringthecovid19pandemiconchildhoodimmunizationsinbenguelaprovinceangola AT akiraishiguro evaluationoftheimpactofthestateofemergencyduringthecovid19pandemiconchildhoodimmunizationsinbenguelaprovinceangola AT kenjitakehara evaluationoftheimpactofthestateofemergencyduringthecovid19pandemiconchildhoodimmunizationsinbenguelaprovinceangola |