Abstract
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination coverage may decline due to limited accessibility to healthcare. We assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vaccination coverage and the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) in the Republic of Korea. National vaccination coverage of 10 essential vaccines administered to children between January–June 2019 and January–June 2020 was analyzed. The national incidence of selected VPDs was compared for the corresponding periods. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the vaccination rate in children aged 0–35 months in Korea did not decrease significantly, whereas the vaccination rate for children aged 4–6 years decreased by 1.4–1.9%. The overall incidence of VPDs decreased by 10–50% between 2019 and 2020, especially with varicella. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic did not result in a decrease in vaccination coverage among Korean children, which prevented a surge in VPD incidence. Maintaining essential vaccination coverage without interruption is important during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
The management of vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a challenge in many countries due to various reasons, from inaccessibility to healthcare to a surge in capacity
Of the vaccines administered before the age of 3 years, the vaccination coverage of the VAR, MMR, and Hepatitis A (HepA) vaccines starting one year after birth decreased by
Pertussis, and hepatitis B incidence decreased by approximately 12–40% in 2020 (Figure 2B)
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic did not result in a decrease in vaccination coverage among. Korean children, which prevented a surge in VPD incidence. Maintaining essential vaccination coverage without interruption is important during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The management of vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a challenge in many countries due to various reasons, from inaccessibility to healthcare to a surge in capacity. To prevent a simultaneous epidemic of COVID-19 and VPD and to prevent outbreaks of VPD after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, operation of the vaccination system should be continued without interruption [2]. We aimed to compare the national vaccination coverage in Korea in the period from January to June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with that in the same period in 2019
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