The COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination abandonment in children: spatial heterogeneity maps.
Rayssa Nogueira Rodrigues, Gabriela Lourença Martins do Nascimento, Luiz Henrique Arroyo and 3 others
PMID 36228235WHAT IT FOUND
In Minas Gerais, 444,982 (24.63%) vaccine schedules started were abandoned for four routine childhood vaccines.
The largest number of groups of areas where abandonment was higher than in other areas was in 2020, except for pneumococcal 10.
Key findings
01Between 2018 and 2020, 444,982 (24.63%) vaccine schedules started were abandoned for pneumococcal 10, poliomyelitis, pentavalent and rotavirus vaccines in Minas Gerais.
02Spatial analysis detected clusters of abandonment for all four vaccines in every year analyzed.
03The largest number of clusters where abandonment was higher than in other areas was identified in 2020, except for the pneumococcal 10 vaccine.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used aggregate municipal records, not individual children, so it cannot say why a family abandoned vaccination. The authors note that vaccination records can differ between local and national systems because registration is offline and must be sent by each municipality. The denominator uses live-birth records, which can be inaccurate because of population estimates, migration and mobility. The authors say the pandemic likely intensified abandonment, not that they tested this cause.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that the pandemic caused vaccine abandonment. The study compares areas and years using aggregate records, and the authors say the pandemic likely intensified abandonment, not that they tested that cause.