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Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine pediatric vaccine ordering and administration — United States, 2020
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May 8, 2020
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Corporate Authors:National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.)Immunization Services Division. ; HealthPartners Institute. ; Kaiser Permanente. Institute for Health Research. ; National Center for Emerging Zoonotic and Infectious Diseases (U.S.)Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. ; Total Solutions, Inc. ; ... More +
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Description:On March 13, 2020, the president of the United States declared a national emergency in response to the coronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (1). With reports of laboratory-confirmed cases in all 50 states by that time (2), disruptions were anticipated in the U.S. health care system’s ability to continue providing routine preventive and other nonemergency care. In addition, many states and localities issued shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders to reduce the spread of COVID-19, limiting movement outside the home to essential activities (3). On March 24, CDC posted guidance emphasizing the importance of routine well child care and immunization, particularly for children aged ≤24 months, when many childhood vaccines are recommended.
Two data sources were examined to assess the impact of the pandemic on pediatric vaccination in the United States: Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) provider order data from CDC’s Vaccine Tracking System and Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) vaccine administration data. Vaccination coverage is the traditional metric used to assess vaccine usage; however, provider orders and doses administered represent two immediately available proxy measures.
VFC is a national program that provides federally purchased vaccines to approximately 50% of U.S. children aged 0–18 years.† Cumulative doses of VFC-funded vaccines ordered by health care providers at weekly intervals during two periods (January 7, 2019–April 21, 2019 [period 1] and January 6, 2020–April 19, 2020 [period 2]) were tallied, and differences in cumulative weekly vaccine doses ordered between period 2 and period 1 were calculated for all noninfluenza vaccines§ that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends for children and, as an example, for measles-containing-vaccines.¶ VSD is a collaborative project between CDC’s Immunization Safety Office and eight U.S. health care organizations serving publicly and privately insured patients.** Aggregate counts of measles-containing vaccine doses administered each week at VSD sites during period 2 were compared between two pediatric age groups: children aged ≤24 months and those aged >24 months through 18 years.
Suggested citation for this article: Santoli JM, Lindley MC, DeSilva MB, et al. Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Routine Pediatric Vaccine Ordering and Administration — United States, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 8 May 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6919e2
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