scholarly journals The Impact of War in Yemen on Immunization Coverage of Children Under One Year of Age: Descriptive Study

10.2196/14461 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. e14461
Author(s):  
Amr Torbosh ◽  
Mohammed Abdulla Al Amad ◽  
Abdulwahed Al Serouri ◽  
Yousef Khader

Background After 2 years of war that crippled the capacity of the Yemeni National Health System and left only 45% of health facilities functioning, Yemen faced increasing vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) outbreaks and may be at high risk of polio importation. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the 2015 war on the immunization coverage of children under 1 year. Methods Data on vaccination coverage for 2012-2015 were obtained from the national Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). The vaccination coverage was calculated at the national and governorate levels by dividing the number of actually vaccinated children by the estimated population of children under 1 year. Results Although there was an increase from 2012 to 2014 in the national coverage for penta-3 vaccine (82% in 2012 vs 88% in 2014) and measles vaccine (70% in 2012 vs 75% in 2014), the coverage was still below the national target (≥95%). Furthermore, the year 2015 witnessed a marked drop in the national coverage compared with 2014 for the measles vaccine (66% in 2015 vs 75% in 2014), but a slight drop in penta-3 vaccine coverage (84% in 2015 vs 88% in 2014). Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine also showed a marked drop from 73% in 2014 to 49% in 2015. These reductions were more marked in governorates that witnessed armed confrontations (eg, Taiz, Lahj, and Sa’dah governorates). On the other hand, governorates that did not witness armed confrontations showed an increase in coverage (eg, Raymah and Ibb), owing to an increase in their population because of displacement from less secure and confrontation-prone governorates. Conclusions This analysis demonstrated the marked negative impact of the 2015 war on immunization coverage, especially in the governorates that witnessed armed confrontations. This could put Yemen at more risk of VPD outbreaks and polio importation. Besides the ongoing efforts to stop the Yemeni war, strategies for more innovative vaccine delivery or provision and fulfilling the increasing demands are needed, especially in governorates with confrontations. Enhancing EPI performance through supportable investments in infrastructure that was destroyed by the war and providing decentralized funds are a prerequisite.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amr Torbosh ◽  
Mohammed Abdulla Al Amad ◽  
Abdulwahed Al Serouri ◽  
Yousef Khader

BACKGROUND After 2 years of war that crippled the capacity of the Yemeni National Health System and left only 45% of health facilities functioning, Yemen faced increasing vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) outbreaks and may be at high risk of polio importation. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the 2015 war on the immunization coverage of children under 1 year. METHODS Data on vaccination coverage for 2012-2015 were obtained from the national Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). The vaccination coverage was calculated at the national and governorate levels by dividing the number of actually vaccinated children by the estimated population of children under 1 year. RESULTS Although there was an increase from 2012 to 2014 in the national coverage for penta-3 vaccine (82% in 2012 vs 88% in 2014) and measles vaccine (70% in 2012 vs 75% in 2014), the coverage was still below the national target (≥95%). Furthermore, the year 2015 witnessed a marked drop in the national coverage compared with 2014 for the measles vaccine (66% in 2015 vs 75% in 2014), but a slight drop in penta-3 vaccine coverage (84% in 2015 vs 88% in 2014). Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine also showed a marked drop from 73% in 2014 to 49% in 2015. These reductions were more marked in governorates that witnessed armed confrontations (eg, Taiz, Lahj, and Sa’dah governorates). On the other hand, governorates that did not witness armed confrontations showed an increase in coverage (eg, Raymah and Ibb), owing to an increase in their population because of displacement from less secure and confrontation-prone governorates. CONCLUSIONS This analysis demonstrated the marked negative impact of the 2015 war on immunization coverage, especially in the governorates that witnessed armed confrontations. This could put Yemen at more risk of VPD outbreaks and polio importation. Besides the ongoing efforts to stop the Yemeni war, strategies for more innovative vaccine delivery or provision and fulfilling the increasing demands are needed, especially in governorates with confrontations. Enhancing EPI performance through supportable investments in infrastructure that was destroyed by the war and providing decentralized funds are a prerequisite.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Drummond ◽  
Isabel Marín ◽  
Anny Sánchez ◽  
Marianjosé Reyes ◽  
Jenny García ◽  
...  

Abstract In Venezuela, PAHO has reported an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases since 2016. The goal of this work was to assess vaccination coverage in children hospitalized in the Department of Pediatrics at the Hospital Universitario de Caracas (HUC). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study included 0 to 12 years old children hospitalized in HUC admitted between January 2015 and December 2019, and verified immunization scheme. The patient data were compared with the schedule of the Ministry of Health of Venezuela and analyzed by comparing immunization coverage by year of patient hospitalization and patient age. Results: A total of 2903 patients were surveyed, corresponding to 53.2% male, 37.4% infants. A coverage level above 95% was found only for BCG. Comparing vaccination coverage with the vaccination schedule vs year of patient hospitalization, it was observed a mean decrease in vaccine coverage of 21.5% in 2019 relative to 2015 (p = 0.0000). Vaccination rates in children under one year old were lower than in children older than 6 years for all vaccines (p = 0.0000) Conclusions: There is a decline in vaccination coverage in 2019 in relation to previous years, being the most affected children less than one year old


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (26) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Lévy-Bruhl ◽  
Laure Fonteneau ◽  
Sophie Vaux ◽  
Anne-Sophie Barret ◽  
Denise Antona ◽  
...  

One year after the extension of the childhood vaccination mandates to the 11 routine vaccinations for children under 2 years old, we estimated vaccination coverage through vaccine reimbursement data. Coverage for children born in 2018 has notably increased. Moreover, vaccine coverage for children and for vaccines not concerned by the law have also shown an increasing trend, supporting a positive impact of the ongoing communication strategy on vaccination, beyond the extension of vaccination mandates.


BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
F. T. Cutts ◽  
M. J. Ferrari ◽  
L. K. Krause ◽  
A. J. Tatem ◽  
J. F. Mosser

Abstract Background Through a combination of strong routine immunization (RI), strategic supplemental immunization activities (SIA) and robust surveillance, numerous countries have been able to approach or achieve measles elimination. The fragility of these achievements has been shown, however, by the resurgence of measles since 2016. We describe trends in routine measles vaccine coverage at national and district level, SIA performance and demographic changes in the three regions with the highest measles burden. Findings WHO-UNICEF estimates of immunization coverage show that global coverage of the first dose of measles vaccine has stabilized at 85% from 2015 to 19. In 2000, 17 countries in the WHO African and Eastern Mediterranean regions had measles vaccine coverage below 50%, and although all increased coverage by 2019, at a median of 60%, it remained far below levels needed for elimination. Geospatial estimates show many low coverage districts across Africa and much of the Eastern Mediterranean and southeast Asian regions. A large proportion of children unvaccinated for MCV live in conflict-affected areas with remote rural areas and some urban areas also at risk. Countries with low RI coverage use SIAs frequently, yet the ideal timing and target age range for SIAs vary within countries, and the impact of SIAs has often been mitigated by delays or disruptions. SIAs have not been sufficient to achieve or sustain measles elimination in the countries with weakest routine systems. Demographic changes also affect measles transmission, and their variation between and within countries should be incorporated into strategic planning. Conclusions Rebuilding services after the COVID-19 pandemic provides a need and an opportunity to increase community engagement in planning and monitoring services. A broader suite of interventions is needed beyond SIAs. Improved methods for tracking coverage at the individual and community level are needed together with enhanced surveillance. Decision-making needs to be decentralized to develop locally-driven, sustainable strategies for measles control and elimination.


2021 ◽  
pp. e1-e9
Author(s):  
Angela K. Shen ◽  
Cristi A. Bramer ◽  
Lynsey M. Kimmins ◽  
Robert Swanson ◽  
Patricia Vranesich ◽  
...  

Objectives. To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immunization services across the life course. Methods. In this retrospective study, we used Michigan immunization registry data from 2018 through September 2020 to assess the number of vaccine doses administered, number of sites providing immunization services to the Vaccines for Children population, provider location types that administer adult vaccines, and vaccination coverage for children. Results. Of 12 004 384 individual vaccine doses assessed, 48.6%, 15.6%, and 35.8% were administered to children (aged 0–8 years), adolescents (aged 9–18 years), and adults (aged 19–105 years), respectively. Doses administered overall decreased beginning in February 2020, with peak declines observed in April 2020 (63.3%). Overall decreases in adult doses were observed in all settings except obstetrics and gynecology provider offices and pharmacies. Local health departments reported a 66.4% decrease in doses reported. For children, the total number of sites administering pediatric vaccines decreased while childhood vaccination coverage decreased 4.4% overall and 5.8% in Medicaid-enrolled children. Conclusions. The critical challenge is to return to prepandemic levels of vaccine doses administered as well as to catch up individuals for vaccinations missed. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print October 7, 2021: e1–e9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306474 )


Author(s):  
Yumnam Devashree ◽  
B. K. Dutta ◽  
S. B. Paul ◽  
Sudip Choudhury

An experiment was carried out in Rosekandy Tea Estate, Barak Valley, Assam to investigate the persistence of some selected pesticides (i.e Endosulfan, Fipronil, Paraquat and 2,4-D) on the soil. These pesticides were applied in the soil as per the application rate, where one year old tea plants were growing and the residue were analysed for a period of 50 days. Their degradation kinetics in soil was also studied and described. Soil samples were collected with the help of soil corer. The samples were brought to the laboratory, air dried in room temperature and extracted for analysis with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Among the pesticides 2,4-D was highly persistent with half life of 57.75 days followed by Endosulfan which lost 42.64% of its initial concentration by the last sampling period (i.e 50 days) after the spraying. Fipronil and paraquat lost 65% and 70.32% of initial residue in soil making them the least persistent amongst these pesticides in the studied soil. Considering the impact of pesticide residues on human health, the less persistent pesticides may be used in tea plantations to minimize the potential negative impact of pesticides in the environment. The cost benefit ratios of the use of the pesticides should be also worked out.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Awdeh

This study aims at defining the credit growth determinants in Lebanon by exploiting a panel data of 34 commercial banks over the period 2000-2015. The empirical results show that deposit growth, GDP growth, inflation, and money supply, all boost bank credit to the resident private sector. Conversely, credit risk, lending interest rate, T-bill rate, public borrowing, and remittance inflows decrease loan growth. We extend our analysis and detect the impact of one year lag of all exploited variables in order to find out if they have a delayed impact on credit growth, where we find several different results. For instance, lag LLP recorded the opposite effect of LLP; ROA does not affect credit growth, whereas its lag lowers credit growth; the impact of a change in money supply amplifies considerably after one year; and finally, the negative impact of remittances fades away after one year.  


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed M. Moghadas ◽  
Meagan C. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Affan Shoukat ◽  
Kevin Zhang ◽  
Alison P. Galvani

Importance: A significant proportion of COVID-19 transmission occurs silently during the pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic stages of infection. Children, while being important drivers of silent transmission, are not included in COVID-19 vaccination campaigns given their exclusion from clinical trials thus far. Objective: To investigate the impact of a targeted approach to identifying silent infections among children as a proxy for their vaccination. Design: This study used an age-structured disease transmission model to simulate the synergistic impact of interventions in reducing attack rates over the course of one year. Setting: A synthetic population representative of the demographics of the United States (US). Participants: Six age groups of 0-4, 5-10, 11-18, 19-49, 50-64, 65+ years old, stratified for their population size based on US census data. Exposures: Vaccination of adults, self-isolation of all symptomatic cases within 24 hours of symptom onset, and detection of silent infections. Main Outcomes and Measures: Vaccination of adults was implemented to reach a 40% coverage over the course of one year with a vaccine efficacy of 95% against symptomatic and severe COVID-19. Without vaccination of children, we determined the proportion and speed that would be required for identifying silent infections among this age group to suppress future attack rates below 5%. Results: A targeted approach that identifies 20.6% and 28.6% of silent infections among children within 2 or 3 days post-infection, respectively, would be required to bring attack rates under 5% with vaccination of adults. If silent infections among children remained undetected, achieving the same attack rates would require an unrealistically high vaccination coverage (at least 82%) of this age group, in addition to the base-case 40% vaccination coverage of adults. The results were robust in sensitivity analyses with respect to vaccine efficacy against infection and reduced susceptibility of children to infection. Conclusions and Relevance: In the absence of vaccine availability for children, a targeted approach to rapid identification of silent COVID-19 infections in this age group can significantly mitigate disease burden. Without measures to interrupt transmission chains from silent infections, vaccination of adults is unlikely to contain the outbreaks in the near term.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Teslya ◽  
Ganna Rozhnova ◽  
Thi Mui Pham ◽  
Daphne van Wees ◽  
Hendrik Nunner ◽  
...  

Abstract Mass vaccination campaigns against SARS-CoV-2 are under way in many countries with the hope that increasing vaccination coverage will enable reducing current physical distancing measures. Compliance with these measures is waning, while more transmissible virus variants such as B.1.1.7 have emerged. Using SARS-CoV-2 transmission model we investigated the impact of the feedback between compliance, the incidence of infection, and vaccination coverage on the success of a vaccination programme in the population where waning of compliance depends on vaccine coverage. Our results suggest that the combination of fast waning compliance, slow vaccination rates, and more transmissible variants may result in a higher cumulative number of infections than in a situation without vaccination. These adverse effects can be alleviated if vaccinated individuals do not revert to pre-pandemic contact rates, and if non-vaccinated individuals remain compliant with physical distancing measures. Both require convincing, clear and appropriately targeted communication strategies by public health authorities.


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