Routine immunization remains a key intervention against vaccine-preventable diseases in children

Routine immunization remains a key intervention against vaccine-preventable diseases in children. COVID-19, immunization, pandemic, vaccine In December 2019, a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was first reported in Wuhan, China, and rapidly spread throughout the world, resulting in a pandemic within 3 months.1 COVID-19 is the acute respiratory disease caused by this new virus. By August 2020, there were almost 20 million confirmed cases worldwide and well over half-million deaths.2 Although the disease occurs in all age groups, mortality is mostly seen in older people and individuals with co-morbidities. 3C5 Since there is still no effective treatment or vaccine, measures implemented for the control of COVID-19 include non-pharmaceutical interventions (including serious curfews in some countries), canceling mass gathering activities, and mandating social distancing, school closures, and travel restrictions. While the impact of COVID-19 varies among countries worldwide, through these measures, societies are trying to reduce the use of healthcare facilities by decreasing the spread of the virus and minimizing virus-related morbidity and mortality rates.6,7 This has resulted Stearoylcarnitine in a disruption of commerce, travel, and health care During times of quarantine, routine health-care services and elective surgical procedures have been stopped in many health-care settings, and health-care professionals have been organized in such a way as to support or prioritize the care of increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients. At the same time, immunization practices in all age groups, especially routine childhood vaccines, have also been interrupted, delayed, re-organized, or completely suspended. 8 When immunization programs are stopped or interrupted for any reason, we may observe an increasing number of vaccine-preventable infections and related deaths, in addition to a fraction of the population that became susceptible to diseases that were controlled or even eliminated.8 With control strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 affecting childhood and mass immunization campaigns worldwide, millions of children are now at risk of other deadly vaccine preventable diseases.9 By contrast, in countries that are easing restrictions, there is a potential risk of outbreaks of diseases like measles, pertussis, and polio, among others. The first epidemiological data from Wuhan showed that children make up a small portion of COVID-19 patients, and the need for intensive care among pediatric patients is very low.10 Soon thereafter, data from Italy, Spain, and the United States (US), where the disease has spread widely, also showed that children constitute only a small number of hospitalized patients.11C13 Infected children, as a group, seem to have a milder clinical course, lower hospitalization, and intensive care requirements, and in rare cases mortality.14 Recently, case reports and case series from the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Switzerland, and the United States have raised concerns about a severe systemic disease manifestation related to SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has referred to this condition as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19.15 Social distancing measures, such as closing schools and imposing lockdowns, have already had some beneficial effects on common childhood infections that are transmitted via droplets, respiratory secretions, or the fecalCoral route.16 This has clearly been shown for influenza.17C19 However, children remain at risk for these and other vaccine preventable diseases, particularly upon the gradual removal of isolation and quarantine conditions. Routine immunization remains a key intervention against vaccine-preventable diseases in PRKACG children. Routine Stearoylcarnitine immunizations for pregnant women, adults, and elderly persons, and patients with chronic conditions, and higher risk, are also essential. Routine immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic COVID 19 is disrupting life-saving immunization services around the world, putting millions of children C in industrialized as well as in low- and middle-income countries C at risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. Stearoylcarnitine Because of the risk of infection and the need to maintain physical distance during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have temporarily and reasonably suspended preventive mass vaccination campaigns against diseases such as measles, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, tetanus, meningitis.20 Causes of the delayed/interrupted immunizations are due to parents fears, restrictions of movement/lockdown policies, changing priorities for COVID-19 among health-care personnel, and logistics delivery issues (i.e., vaccine transport delays). The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance have reported that routine immunization programs have been substantially disrupted in at least 68 countries, affecting around 80 million children.20 A further 24 million people are at risk of losing out on vaccines including measles, polio, rotavirus, meningitis, rubella, and human papillomavirus in GAVI-supported low-income countries.20 Vaccines are of critical importance in these areas, which also have limited access to health services and treatments. Due to the risk of.