Missed Opportunities of Vaccination Among Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic in India: Mapping the Impact on Sustainable Development Goals Targets 3.2, 3.3, and 3.B
Gurpreet Kaur, Latika Rohilla, Nabaneeta Dash, Sanjay VermaBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine immunization services, creating missed opportunities for childhood vaccination and threatening progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets 3.2, 3.3, and 3.B.
Objectives
To assess the missed routine immunizations among children in India during the pandemic and examine parental experiences of accessing services.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary-level pediatric hospital. Using convenience sampling, parents of all children who had visited the pediatric vaccination room over 3 months, from June to August 2021, for routine immunization services were eligible to participate in this study. Enrollment was done only after written and informed consent was taken from the parents or legal guardians. In-person interviews and an online survey using Google Forms were conducted to collect data as per participants’ convenience.
Results
Of 350 parents approached, 316 participated (response rate, 90.3%). The mean age of the children was 4.01 ± 4.0 years (range: 0–16). Overall, complete vaccination coverage was 62.3% (
Conclusion
These missed opportunities may undermine child survival, the control of vaccine-preventable diseases, and equitable access to vaccines, thereby jeopardizing progress toward SDG targets nationally and globally.