[Effect of COVID-19 on routine immunization schedule in Senegalese hospitals]. / Impact de la COVID-19 sur la vaccination de routine en milieu hospitalier au Sénégal.

INTRODUCTION: the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the world to implement drastic prevention methods based on limiting population movements that have an impact on public health policies, such as vaccination. The purpose of this work was to assess the effect of these preventive measures on routine immunization schedules in hospitals after the outbreak of this pandemic in Senegal. METHODS: we conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in the Vaccination Unit of the Abass NDAO hospital center in August 2020. We compared data from the Vaccination Unit over the period March-August of the last three years (2018, 2019 and 2020). The parameter studied was the number of vaccine doses administered in the different periods according to the expanded immunization program. RESULTS: in April, the number of doses of vaccines given at 6 weeks was 36 in 2018, 29 in 2019 and 15 in 2020, reflecting a decrease of 50% compared to March. In July, the number of doses given was 40 in 2018, 35 in 2019 and 15 in 2020, reflecting a reduction of 42% compared to 2019. CONCLUSION: measures to combat this pandemic should not affect routine immunization programmes, especially in our resource-constrained country. It is essential to continue vaccination schedule for children and to identify children who have missed vaccine doses in order to implement catch-up vaccination.

[Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care activities in the Department of Pediatrics at the Albert Royer National Children's Hospital: preliminary study comparing the first quarter of 2019 and 2020]. / Impact de la pandémie à COVID-19 sur les activités du Service de Pédiatrie du Centre Hospitalier National d´Enfants Albert Royer: étude préliminaire comparant les premiers trimestres des années 2019 et 2020.

INTRODUCTION: the purpose of our study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on health care activities and prescriptions at the Albert Royer National Children´s Hospital in Dakar, Senegal. METHODS: we conducted a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study comparing outpatient activity, hospitalizations and prescriptions over the first-quarter of 2019 and 2020. RESULTS: an average drop in external consultations of 33% was reported in the first quarter of 2020 (the pandemic period) compared to the first quarter of 2019. An increase in hospitalizations was observed mainly in the months of January and February. However, a drop of 11% was reported in the month of March. The same is true for prescriptions, for which a drop of 10% was reported only in the month of March.Conclusion: the current COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on outpatients´ consultations, health care activities and prescriptions at the Albert Royer National Children´s Hospital. Effective measures should be taken to prevent effects on mortality and Hospital activities.