COVID-19 and Routine Childhood and Adolescent Immunizations: Evidence from Louisiana Medicaid.
Vaccine
; 40(6): 837-840, 2022 02 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1586278
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine vaccinations for children and adolescents. However, it remains unclear whether the impact has been different for children and adolescents from low-income families. To address this, we compared monthly routine vaccination use per 1000 vaccine-eligible children and adolescents enrolled in Louisiana Medicaid in the years before (2017-2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). Compared to the 2017-2019 average vaccination rates, we found a 28% reduction in measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), a 35% reduction in human papillomavirus (HPV), and a 30% reduction in tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) vaccinations in 2020. Vaccine uptake was lower in April 2020 after the declaration of a state of emergency and in late summer when back-to-school vaccinations ordinarily occur. We found little evidence of recovery in later months. Our findings suggest that a substantial number of disadvantaged children may experience longer periods of vulnerability to preventable infections because of missed vaccinations.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Vaccine
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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