Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Status of Routine Immunization Coverage in the World Health Organization African Region Three Years into the COVID-19 Pandemic

Franck Mboussou
* ORCID logo ,
Sarah Kada
ORCID logo ,
M. Carolina Danovaro-Holliday
ORCID logo ,
Bridget Farham
ORCID logo ,
Marta Gacic-Dobo
,
Jessica C Shearer
ORCID logo ,
Ado BWAKA
,
Adidaja Amani
,
Roland Ngom
,
Yolande Vuo-Masembe
,
Charles S. Wiysonge
,
Benido Impouma
Version 1 : Received: 16 November 2023 / Approved: 16 November 2023 / Online: 17 November 2023 (08:50:45 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Mboussou, F.; Kada, S.; Danovaro-Holliday, M.C.; Farham, B.; Gacic-Dobo, M.; Shearer, J.C.; Bwaka, A.; Amani, A.; Ngom, R.; Vuo-Masembe, Y.; Wiysonge, C.S.; Impouma, B. Status of Routine Immunization Coverage in the World Health Organization African Region Three Years into the COVID-19 Pandemic. Vaccines 2024, 12, 168. Mboussou, F.; Kada, S.; Danovaro-Holliday, M.C.; Farham, B.; Gacic-Dobo, M.; Shearer, J.C.; Bwaka, A.; Amani, A.; Ngom, R.; Vuo-Masembe, Y.; Wiysonge, C.S.; Impouma, B. Status of Routine Immunization Coverage in the World Health Organization African Region Three Years into the COVID-19 Pandemic. Vaccines 2024, 12, 168.

Abstract

Data from the WHO and UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC) 2022 revision were analyzed to assess the status of routine immunization in the WHO African Region, disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the coverage with the first and third dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis containing vaccine (DTP1 and DTP3 respectively) and with the first dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV1), in the region, was estimated at 80%, 72% and 69%, respectively (all below the 2019 level). Only 13 of the 47 countries (28%) achieved the global target coverage of 90% or above with DTP3 in 2022. From 2019 to 2022, 28.7 million zero-dose were recorded (19.0% of target population). Ten countries of the region accounted for 80.3% of all zero-dose children including the four most populous countries (Nigeria, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Republic of Tanzania). Reported administrative coverage greater than WUENIC was found in 19 countries, highlighting routine immunization data quality issues. The WHO African region has not yet recovered from COVID-19 disruptions to routine immunization. It is critical for Governments to ensure that processes are in place to prioritize investments for restoring immunization services, catching-up on vaccination of zero-dose and un-der-vaccinated children and improving data quality.

Keywords

Routine immunization; vaccination coverage; zero-dose; WUENIC; COVID-19; Catch-up; African region

Subject

Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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