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The Coronavirus pandemic has affected millions of people due to the spread of the Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. Pregnant individuals and infants are most vulnerable given the increased risk of developing severe complications from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recently, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for pregnant women and infants starting at 6 months of age to prevent disease contraction and minimize disease severity. We conducted a review of the literature on COVID-19 vaccination to discuss vaccine safety and efficacy, immunity after maternal vaccination, transplacental transfer and persistence of antibodies, and public health implications. Current evidence supports the safety and efficacy of vaccination during pregnancy. Maternal vaccination provides greater antibody persistence in infants compared to immunity from natural infection. Furthermore, vaccination has demonstrated an increased rate of passive antibody transfer through the placenta and breast milk. Public health interventions are important in achieving herd immunity and ultimately ending the pandemic. IMPACT: This article highlights the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy with a review of the data describing safety and efficacy, passive and active immunity after maternal immunization, trans-placental transfer and persistence of protective antibodies, and public health implications. With this information, healthcare providers can provide up-to-date knowledge to their pregnant patients to help them form an informed decision on vaccination and combat vaccine hesitancy., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.)

Background: Primary Health Care (PHC) systems are pivotal in delivering essential health services during crises, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. With varied global strategies to reinforce PHC systems, this scoping review consolidates these efforts, identifying and categorizing key resilience-building strategies. Methods: Adopting Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework, this study synthesized literature across five databases and Google Scholar, encompassing studies up to December 31st, 2022. We focused on English and Persian studies that addressed interventions to strengthen PHC amidst COVID-19. Data were analyzed through thematic framework analysis employing MAXQDA 10 software. Results: Our review encapsulated 167 studies from 48 countries, revealing 194 interventions to strengthen PHC resilience, categorized into governance and leadership, financing, workforce, infrastructures, information systems, and service delivery. Notable strategies included telemedicine, workforce training, psychological support, and enhanced health information systems. The diversity of the interventions reflects a robust global response, emphasizing the adaptability of strategies across different health systems. Conclusions: The study underscored the need for well-resourced, managed, and adaptable PHC systems, capable of maintaining continuity in health services during emergencies. The identified interventions suggested a roadmap for integrating resilience into PHC, essential for global health security. This collective knowledge offered a strategic framework to enhance PHC systems' readiness for future health challenges, contributing to the overall sustainability and effectiveness of global health systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 rapidly spread through South Asian countries and overwhelmed the health systems that were unprepared for such an outbreak. Evidence from high-income countries showed that COVID-19 impacted healthcare utilization, including medication use, but empirical evidence is lacking in South Asia. This study aimed to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on healthcare utilization and medication use in South Asia. Method: The current study used longitudinal data from the ‘Premise Health Service Disruption Survey’ 2020 and 2021. The countries of interest were limited to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and India. In these surveys, data related to healthcare utilization and medication use were collected for three-time points; ‘Pre-COVID phase’, ‘Initial phase of COVID-19 outbreak’, and ‘One year of COVID-19 outbreak’. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) along with McNemar’s test, Kruskal–Wallis test and χ2 test were applied in this study following the conceptualization of Andersen’s healthcare utilization model. Result: The use of healthcare and medication was unevenly impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and India. Immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak, respondents in Bangladesh reported around four times higher incomplete healthcare utilization compared to pre-COVID phase. In contrast, respondents in Afghanistan reported lower incomplete utilization of healthcare in a similar context. In the post COVID-19 outbreak, non-adherence to medication use was significantly higher in Afghanistan (OR:1.7; 95%CI:1.6,1.9) and India (OR:1.3; 95%CI:1.1,1.7) compared to pre-COVID phase. Respondents of all three countries who sought assistance to manage non-communicable diseases (NCDs) had higher odds (Afghanistan: OR:1.5; 95%CI:1.3,1.8; Bangladesh: OR: 3.7; 95%CI:1.9,7.3; India: OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.4,3.6) of non-adherence to medication use after the COVID-19 outbreak compared to pre-COVID phase. Conclusion: The present study documented important evidence of the influence of COVID-19 epidemic on healthcare utilization and medication use in three countries of South Asia. Lessons learned from this study can feed into policy responses to the crisis and preparedness for future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic posed substantial challenges to healthcare systems globally and severely disrupted essential health services, including routine immunization programs. In India, these disruptions were exacerbated due to the sudden emergence of the pandemic and lockdown measures, leading to mass migrations and a shortage of healthcare workers. Caregivers' concerns about routine immunization sessions further compounded the problem, resulting in a sharp increase in zero-dose children. This review paper examines India's strategies for conducting one of the world's largest COVID-19 vaccination programs while effectively restoring and perpetuating its Universal Immunization Program (UIP). The UIP played a pivotal role in sustaining immunization services during the pandemic, ultimately improving immunization coverage compared to pre-pandemic levels. India's accomplishments in this regard are highlighted through key performance indicators, the reach of immunization services, a reduction in zero-dose children, and antigen-wise coverage. The paper also discusses the successful integration of COVID-19 vaccination within the UIP framework, underscoring the significance of existing infrastructure, technology, and capacity building. India's dedication to concurrently managing routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccination showcases the adaptability and resilience of its healthcare system. India's journey serves as a global example of efficient mass immunization during challenging times, emphasizing the importance of political will, healthcare infrastructure investment, skilled healthcare workforces, and comprehensive vaccination programs. In a world grappling with the dual challenge of COVID-19 and routine immunization, India's experience provides a roadmap for strengthening healthcare systems and promoting public health as the critical agenda in challenging times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although an essential frontline service in the prevention of child morbidity and mortality, there are indications that routine vaccinations have been disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to compare vaccination coverage before COVID-19 in Mali in 2019 and during COVID-19 in 2020. Objective: To compare vaccination coverages before COVID-19 in Mali in 2019 and during COVID-19 in 2020. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting and participants: We collected routine immunization data from 2019 to 2020 of children under one year in the health district of Commune V in Bamako which includes twelve community health centers (CSCom). Results: Considering all vaccines together, coverage in 2019 was higher than in 2020 (88.7% vs. 71,6%) (p < 10− 3, Fig. 1). In 2020, low proportions of children vaccinated were observed in May (51.1%) two months after the first COVID-19 case in Mali on March 25, 2020. For all vaccines, the mean number of children vaccinated was significantly higher in 2019 (before COVID-19) as compared to 2020 (during COVID-19) (p < 0.05). However, in September and October 2019 BCG vaccine coverage was lower in 2019 as compared to 2020 (p < 10− 3). Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has affected routine childhood vaccine coverage in Commune V of Bamako, particularly in May 2020. Therefore, new strategies are needed to improve vaccine coverage in young children below 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 and efforts to manage widespread infection may compromise HIV care engagement. The COVID-19-related factors linked to reduced HIV engagement have not been assessed among postpartum women with HIV, who are at heightened risk of attrition under non-pandemic circumstances. To mitigate the effects of the pandemic on care engagement and to prepare for future public health crises, it is critical to understand how COVID-19 has impacted (1) engagement in care and (2) factors that may act as barriers to care engagement. Methods: A quantitative assessment of COVID-19-related experiences was added to a longitudinal cohort study assessing predictors of postpartum attrition from HIV care among women in South Africa. Participants (N = 266) completed the assessment at 6, 12, 18, or 24 months postpartum between June and November of 2020. Those who endorsed one or more challenge related to engagement in care (making or keeping HIV care appointments, procuring HIV medications, procuring contraception, and/or accessing immunization services for infants; n = 55) were invited to complete a brief qualitative interview, which explored the specific factors driving these challenges, as well as other impacts of COVID-19 on care engagement. Within this subset, 53 participants completed an interview; qualitative data were analyzed via rapid analysis. Results: Participants described key challenges that reduced their engagement in HIV care and identified four other domains of COVID-19-related impacts: physical health, mental health, relationship with a partner or with the father of the baby, and motherhood/caring for the new baby. Within these domains, specific themes and subthemes emerged, with some positive impacts of COVID-19 also reported (e.g., increased quality time, improved communication with partner, HIV disclosure). Coping strategies for COVID-19-related challenges (e.g., acceptance, spirituality, distraction) were also discussed. Conclusions: About one in five participants reported challenges accessing HIV care, medications, or services, and they faced complex, multilayered barriers to remaining engaged. Physical health, mental health, relationships with partners, and ability to care for their infant were also affected. Given the dynamic nature of the pandemic and general uncertainty about its course, ongoing assessment of pandemic-related challenges among postpartum women is needed to avoid HIV care disruptions and to support wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a threat that has posed a challenge to public health response and threatens immunization programs globally. Despite recommendations to continue routine immunization services, disruptions have been observed to these and mass vaccination campaigns. This may result in setbacks to immunization initiative successes and a rise in cases of vaccine-preventable diseases. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify studies globally that described how indicators of health system resilience, defined using the Resilient Health System Framework, enabled routine immunizations to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic search was conducted in Embase, Web of Science, PsychInfo, medRxiv, bioRxiv, and the gray literature between 1 January 2020, and 12 November 2021. Information was extracted from the studies identified describing how the specific elements of resiliency (being aware, diverse, self-regulating, integrated, and adaptive) were applied to their routine immunization programs. Our study demonstrates the use of tools that contributed to immunization program resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic in all geographic regions and for countries with different income levels. These tools may help inform preparations for other immunization programs to catch up from the COVID-19 pandemic or mitigate the impact of future threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the diversion of health resources away from routine primary care delivery. This disruption of health services has necessitated new approaches to providing care to ensure continuity.Objectives: To summarize changes to the provision of routine primary care services during the pandemic.Methods: Rapid literature review using PubMed/MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and Cochrane. Eligible studies were based in primary care and described practice-level changes in the provision of routine care in response to COVID-19. Relevant data addressing changes to routine primary care delivery, impact on primary care functions and challenges experienced in adjusting to new approaches to providing care, were obtained from included studies. A narrative summary was guided by Burns et al.'s framework for primary care provision in disasters.Results: Seventeen of 1,699 identified papers were included. Studies reported on telehealth use and public health measures to maintain safe access to routine primary care, including providing COVID-19 screening, and establishing dedicated care pathways for non-COVID and COVID-related issues. Acute and urgent care were prioritized, causing disruptions to chronic disease management and preventive care. Challenges included telehealth use including disparities in access and practical difficulties in assessing patients, personal protective equipment shortages, and financial solvency of medical practices.Conclusions: Substantial disruptions to routine primary care occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary care practices' rapid adaptation, often with limited resources and support, demonstrates agility and innovative capacity. Findings underscore the need for timely guidance and support from authorities to optimize the provision of comprehensive routine care during pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the effects of a pandemic on children's routine vaccination between 0 months and 24 months and to determine the affecting factors on vaccination during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: Our study was conducted between July 17, 2020, and August 1, 2020, among 513 mothers whose children were aged between 0 months and 24 months old. A total of 21 questions were asked to participants' sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes and behaviors towards pediatric vaccines during the pandemic. Results: The rate of vaccination for children was 82.8% (n = 425), unvaccinated children was 3.9% (n = 1). 13.3% (n = 68) of vaccinated children had "delayed" vaccination. 76.2% (n = 391) of the participants stated "they were concerned about COVID-19 infection'' while visiting a healthcare center for vaccination. The 3 most common affecting factors for vaccination; 43.9% (n = 340 ) "pediatric vaccines are vital and must be administered," 23.6% (n = 183) they had vaccine appointment and have been informed "vaccination service would continue as usual," 22.7% (n = 176 ) have been informed that "required precautions have been taken". It was found that reasons for not to be vaccinated in the pandemic; 63.2% (n = 12) "fear of COVID-19," 15.8% (n = 3) "quarantined as the whole family" and 10.5% (n = 2) "vaccine hesitancy." Conclusion: Healthcare providers should inform parents that vaccination is vital, and vaccination must always be administered on time during a pandemic. During a pandemic, continuing appointments for vaccination services, calling to inform the parents that required precautions to minimize the spread of infection have already been taken, and alleviating parents' concerns would prevent vaccination rates from decreasing in this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To document the decline in vaccination coverage in the first months of 2020 as an indirect effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: We performed a literature review in medical databases. Overall, 143 articles were initially retrieved, out of which 48 were selected and included in the review. Results: Our review retrieved similar data in many countries worldwide, and, globally, preliminary data from the first 4 months of 2020 indicate a decline in diphtheria‐tetanus‐pertussis coverage, generally considered the marker of vaccination coverage across countries. World Health Organization recommends maintaining vaccination services, prioritising primary series vaccinations especially for measles‐rubella or poliomyelitis, but it also lets each country decide whether to maintain the immunisation services evaluating the current epidemiology of vaccine‐preventable diseases and the COVID‐19 local transmission scenario. Successively, recovering of vaccinations should be planned. Moreover, during the pandemic, influenza vaccination should be promoted as a central public health measure. Conclusion: Future challenges will be to maintain the vaccination programmes, especially in children younger than 2 years old and adolescents, to plan the recovery of vaccinations for subjects who postponed them during the lockdown, and to early identify any vaccine‐preventable disease outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic has impacted routine health care services including immunization delivery. The most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States is the human papillomavirus (HPV), and its sequelae may be prevented by vaccination. Sequelae that can develop if one's immune system is not able to clear the infection include warts, precancerous lesions, and cancer. The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) reports almost everyone who is sexually active will encounter the virus at some time during their life. Most of the estimated 79 million infections occur among people who are in their late teens or early 20s. Since 2006, there has been a vaccine available to prevent HPV infections in both males and females; however, administration of this vaccine has only been about half the rate of other vaccines and vaccine hesitancy may play a role. Public health nurses are vital in providing accurate and nonjudgmental vaccine education to their clients, especially unaccompanied minors seeking care in public health department clinics. This paper will explore the recommendations for providing this vaccine as well as a snapshot of current practice in two health departments in the Southeast region of the United States during the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus-19 pandemic and its secondary effects threaten the continuity of essential health services delivery, which may lead to worsened population health and a protracted public health crisis. We quantify such disruptions, focusing on maternal and child health, in eight sub-Saharan countries. Service volumes are extracted from administrative systems for 63 954 facilities in eight countries: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Somalia. Using an interrupted time series design and an ordinary least squares regression model with facility-level fixed effects, we analyze data from January 2018 to February 2020 to predict what service utilization levels would have been in March-July 2020 in the absence of the pandemic, accounting for both secular trends and seasonality. Estimates of disruption are derived by comparing the predicted and observed service utilization levels during the pandemic period. All countries experienced service disruptions for at least 1 month, but the magnitude and duration of the disruptions vary. Outpatient consultations and child vaccinations were the most commonly affected services and fell by the largest margins. We estimate a cumulative shortfall of 5 149 491 outpatient consultations and 328 961 third-dose pentavalent vaccinations during the 5 months in these eight countries. Decreases in maternal health service utilization are less generalized, although significant declines in institutional deliveries, antenatal care and postnatal care were detected in some countries. There is a need to better understand the factors determining the magnitude and duration of such disruptions in order to design interventions that would respond to the shortfall in care. Service delivery modifications need to be both highly contextualized and integrated as a core component of future epidemic response and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In low-and middle-income countries, it is challenging to provide basic health-care services even before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the early indirect impact of COVID-19 on the utilization of reproductive, maternal, and newborn health services at government health facilities in South West Ethiopia, and its consequences. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was employed. The collected data were entered into Microsoft excel 2010 and then exported to SPSS 25 and R3.5.0 software for analysis. Independent sample t-test and two-sample test of proportion were computed, and the results were presented in text, tables, and graphs. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: This study showed that there was a significant reduction in mean utilization of antenatal care (943.25 visits vs 694.75 visits), health facility birth (808.75 births vs 619 births), family planning (4744.5 visits vs 3991.25 visits), and newborn immunization (739.5 given vs 528.5 given) between March–June 2019 and March–June 2020. However, there were significant increases in proportion of teenage pregnancy (7.5% vs 13.1%), teenage abortion care user (21.3% vs 28.5%), institutional stillbirth (14% vs 21.8%) and neonatal death (33.1% vs 46.2%) during the same period. Conclusion and Recommendation: This study showed that utilization of reproductive, maternal, and newborn health-care services was affected by the pandemic with deterioration of maternal and perinatal outcomes. An increase in the proportion of teenage pregnancy who seeks abortion care and the rising cesarean section rate with no improvement in perinatal outcome is a great concern that needs further investigation. Further research is also needed to explore the main reason for an increase in teenage pregnancy, abortion care users, stillbirth, and neonatal death during COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been affecting various sectors, including regular health services negatively. Vaccination, which saves the lives of 2– 3 million populations of different age groups every year, is one of the most affected services by COVID-19. The routine vaccination services and outreach programs have been halted owing to lockdowns imposed on account of escalated cases of COVID-19 all over the world, affecting millions of lives at the stake of vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) henceforth. However, as it is becoming evident that we will have to live with COVID-19 for some time and many countries have lifted the lockdown, vaccination programs and campaigns have resumed with stringent preventive measures to be followed for COVID-19. These programs and campaigns have been trying to overlook and provide the missed vaccination during the imposed lockdown period and continue the other vaccination services to the public in the best possible ways. The collaborative approaches of various health-related organisations, governments and the healthcare workers are necessary to deliver the routine and mass vaccination services in an improvised manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal and child health (MCH) has been a global priority for many decades and is an essential public health service. Ensuring seamless delivery is vital for desirable MCH outcomes. This systematic review outlined the challenges in accessing and continuing MCH services during public health emergencies—pandemics and disasters. A comprehensive search approach was built based on keywords and MeSH terms relevant to 'MCH services' and 'pandemics/disasters'. The online repositories Medline, CINAHL, Psyc INFO, and Epistemonikos were searched for studies. We included twenty studies—seven were on the Ebola outbreak, two on the Zika virus, five related to COVID-19, five on disasters, and one related to conflict situations. The findings indicate the potential impact of emergencies on MCH services. Low utilization and access to services have been described as common challenges. The unavailability of personal safety equipment and fear of infection were primary factors that affected service delivery. The available evidence, though limited, indicates the significant effect of disasters and pandemics on MCH. However, more primary in-depth studies are needed to understand better the overall impact of emergencies, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, on MCH. Our synthesis offers valuable insights to policymakers on ensuring the uninterrupted provision of MCH services during an emergency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rebuilding Trust on Routine Immunization in Era of COVID-19 Fear-Role that Civil Society Organizations can Play Hands-in-Hand with Immunization Program Keywords: COVID-19; routine immunization; CSOs; demand; improving coverage EN COVID-19 routine immunization CSOs demand improving coverage N.PAG N.PAG 1 06/05/21 20210602 NES 210602 To the Editor, The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted the health and socioeconomic condition of this symbiotic globe [[1]]. Data has suggested that; "For every one excess Covid-19 death attributable to SARS-CoV-2 infections acquired during routine vaccination clinic visits could be around 140 (37-549) and these deaths in children may be prevented by sustaining routine childhood immunization in Africa" [[26]]. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly transformed the pre-existing worldwide sexual and reproductive health environment. The provision and supply of contraceptives, and a wide variety of sexual health, new-born, and maternal health services have been seriously affected. Thus, this scoping review mapped the available evidence on the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on sexual and reproductive health. Methods: Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework guided this scoping review. A search was conducted from the following databases: Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, WOS, and AJOL. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) chart and PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist were used to document the review process. The McMaster critical review checklist was used to determine the quality of the included studies. Thematic analyses were conducted using NVivo version 12. Results: Three studies showed evidence on the impact of COVID-19 and family planning services, six studies reported on maternal and child services and eleven studies reported on sexual health (sexual behavior). Limited access to family planning use, reduction in multiple sexual partnership, decreased transactional sex, and maternal and child services disruption were some impacts reported in the included studies. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the impacts of COVID-19 on family planning access, multiple sexual partnership, transactional sex, and disruption of maternal and child health services. Interventions that will consider the immediate availability of and access to all sexual and reproductive health services should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]