Resilience of routine childhood immunization services in two counties in Kenya in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Harriet Mirieri; Carolyne Nasimiyu; Jeanette Dawa; Caroline Mburu; Rose Jalang'o; Peter Kamau; Ledor Igboh; Malembe Ebama; Daniel Wainaina; Jean Gitonga; Joseph Karanja; Emily Njenga; Jane Kariuki; Judith Machani; Pauline Oginga; Imani Baraka; Paul Wamaru; Sally Muhula; Peter Ratemo; Jorim Ayugi; M. Kariuki Njenga; Gideon O. Emukule; Eric Osoro; Nancy A. Otieno

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.09.023

Resilience of routine childhood immunization services in two counties in Kenya in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Harriet Mirieri^*, Carolyne Nasimiyu, Jeanette Dawa, Caroline Mburu, Rose Jalang'o, Peter Kamau, Ledor Igboh, Malembe Ebama, Daniel Wainaina, Jean Gitonga, Joseph Karanja, Emily Njenga, Jane Kariuki, Judith Machani, Pauline Oginga, Imani Baraka, Paul Wamaru, Sally Muhula, Peter Ratemo, Jorim AyugiM. Kariuki Njenga, Gideon O. Emukule, Eric Osoro, Nancy A. Otieno

^*Corresponding author for this work

Social Anthropology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

9 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The recently emerged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide and disrupted health services. We describe the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on utilization of childhood vaccination services during the pandemic. Using a mixed methods approach combining retrospective data review, a cross-sectional survey, focus group discussions among care givers and key informant interviews among nurses, we collected data between May and September 2021 in Mombasa and Nakuru counties. Overall, there was a <2 % decline in the number of vaccine doses administered during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period but this was statistically insignificant, both for the pentavalent-1 vaccine (ß = −0.013, p = 0.505) and the pentavalent-3 vaccine (ß = −0.012, p = 0.440). In government health facilities, there was 7.7 % reduction in the number of pentavalent-1 (ß = −0.08, p = 0.010) and 10.4 % reduction in the number of pentavalent-3 (ß = −0.11, p < 0.001) vaccine doses that were administered during the pandemic period. In non-government facilities, there was a 25.8 % increase in the number of pentavalent-1 (ß=0.23, p < 0.001) and 31.0 % increase in the number of pentavalent-3 (ß = −0.27, p < 0.001) vaccine doses that were administered facilities during the pandemic period. The strategies implemented to maintain immunization services during the pandemic period included providing messaging on the availability and importance of staying current with routine vaccination and conducting catch-up vaccinations and vaccination outreaches. Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact childhood vaccination services in Mombasa and Nakuru counties in Kenya. The private health facilities cushioned vaccination services against the effects of the pandemic and the strategies that were put in place by the ministry of health ensured continuation of vaccination services and encouraged uptake of the services during the pandemic period in the two counties in Kenya. These findings provide useful information to safeguard vaccination services during future pandemics.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	7695-7704
Journal	Vaccine
Volume	41
Issue number	52
Early online date	25 Nov 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.09.023
Publication status	Published - 18 Dec 2023

Keywords

COVID-19
Pandemic
Vaccination
Essential health services
Kenya

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.09.023Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Mirieri_2023_Vaccine_Resilience-routine-childhood_CC
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Final published version, 775 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

Mirieri, H., Nasimiyu, C., Dawa, J., Mburu, C., Jalang'o, R., Kamau, P., Igboh, L., Ebama, M., Wainaina, D., Gitonga, J., Karanja, J., Njenga, E., Kariuki, J., Machani, J., Oginga, P., Baraka, I., Wamaru, P., Muhula, S., Ratemo, P., ... Otieno, N. A. (2023). Resilience of routine childhood immunization services in two counties in Kenya in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine, 41(52), 7695-7704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.09.023

@article{0ad150dce770460cb2cccaeb2825adf4,

title = "Resilience of routine childhood immunization services in two counties in Kenya in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic",

abstract = "The recently emerged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide and disrupted health services. We describe the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on utilization of childhood vaccination services during the pandemic. Using a mixed methods approach combining retrospective data review, a cross-sectional survey, focus group discussions among care givers and key informant interviews among nurses, we collected data between May and September 2021 in Mombasa and Nakuru counties. Overall, there was a <2 % decline in the number of vaccine doses administered during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period but this was statistically insignificant, both for the pentavalent-1 vaccine ({\ss} = −0.013, p = 0.505) and the pentavalent-3 vaccine ({\ss} = −0.012, p = 0.440). In government health facilities, there was 7.7 % reduction in the number of pentavalent-1 ({\ss} = −0.08, p = 0.010) and 10.4 % reduction in the number of pentavalent-3 ({\ss} = −0.11, p < 0.001) vaccine doses that were administered during the pandemic period. In non-government facilities, there was a 25.8 % increase in the number of pentavalent-1 ({\ss}=0.23, p < 0.001) and 31.0 % increase in the number of pentavalent-3 ({\ss} = −0.27, p < 0.001) vaccine doses that were administered facilities during the pandemic period. The strategies implemented to maintain immunization services during the pandemic period included providing messaging on the availability and importance of staying current with routine vaccination and conducting catch-up vaccinations and vaccination outreaches. Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact childhood vaccination services in Mombasa and Nakuru counties in Kenya. The private health facilities cushioned vaccination services against the effects of the pandemic and the strategies that were put in place by the ministry of health ensured continuation of vaccination services and encouraged uptake of the services during the pandemic period in the two counties in Kenya. These findings provide useful information to safeguard vaccination services during future pandemics.",

keywords = "COVID-19, Pandemic, Vaccination, Essential health services, Kenya",

author = "Harriet Mirieri and Carolyne Nasimiyu and Jeanette Dawa and Caroline Mburu and Rose Jalang'o and Peter Kamau and Ledor Igboh and Malembe Ebama and Daniel Wainaina and Jean Gitonga and Joseph Karanja and Emily Njenga and Jane Kariuki and Judith Machani and Pauline Oginga and Imani Baraka and Paul Wamaru and Sally Muhula and Peter Ratemo and Jorim Ayugi and {Kariuki Njenga}, M. and Emukule, {Gideon O.} and Eric Osoro and Otieno, {Nancy A.}",

note = "This work was funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant (Cooperative Agreement 5U01GH002143) and the Task Force for Global Health (TFGH) through the Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI).",

year = "2023",

month = dec,

day = "18",

doi = "10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.09.023",

language = "English",

volume = "41",

pages = "7695--7704",

journal = "Vaccine",

issn = "0264-410X",

publisher = "Elsevier",

number = "52",

}

Mirieri, H, Nasimiyu, C, Dawa, J, Mburu, C, Jalang'o, R, Kamau, P, Igboh, L, Ebama, M, Wainaina, D, Gitonga, J, Karanja, J, Njenga, E, Kariuki, J, Machani, J, Oginga, P, Baraka, I, Wamaru, P, Muhula, S, Ratemo, P, Ayugi, J, Kariuki Njenga, M, Emukule, GO, Osoro, E & Otieno, NA 2023, 'Resilience of routine childhood immunization services in two counties in Kenya in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic', Vaccine, vol. 41, no. 52, pp. 7695-7704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.09.023

TY - JOUR

T1 - Resilience of routine childhood immunization services in two counties in Kenya in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

AU - Mirieri, Harriet

AU - Nasimiyu, Carolyne

AU - Dawa, Jeanette

AU - Mburu, Caroline

AU - Jalang'o, Rose

AU - Kamau, Peter

AU - Igboh, Ledor

AU - Ebama, Malembe

AU - Wainaina, Daniel

AU - Gitonga, Jean

AU - Karanja, Joseph

AU - Njenga, Emily

AU - Kariuki, Jane

AU - Machani, Judith

AU - Oginga, Pauline

AU - Baraka, Imani

AU - Wamaru, Paul

AU - Muhula, Sally

AU - Ratemo, Peter

AU - Ayugi, Jorim

AU - Kariuki Njenga, M.

AU - Emukule, Gideon O.

AU - Osoro, Eric

AU - Otieno, Nancy A.

N1 - This work was funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant (Cooperative Agreement 5U01GH002143) and the Task Force for Global Health (TFGH) through the Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI).

PY - 2023/12/18

Y1 - 2023/12/18

N2 - The recently emerged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide and disrupted health services. We describe the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on utilization of childhood vaccination services during the pandemic. Using a mixed methods approach combining retrospective data review, a cross-sectional survey, focus group discussions among care givers and key informant interviews among nurses, we collected data between May and September 2021 in Mombasa and Nakuru counties. Overall, there was a <2 % decline in the number of vaccine doses administered during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period but this was statistically insignificant, both for the pentavalent-1 vaccine (ß = −0.013, p = 0.505) and the pentavalent-3 vaccine (ß = −0.012, p = 0.440). In government health facilities, there was 7.7 % reduction in the number of pentavalent-1 (ß = −0.08, p = 0.010) and 10.4 % reduction in the number of pentavalent-3 (ß = −0.11, p < 0.001) vaccine doses that were administered during the pandemic period. In non-government facilities, there was a 25.8 % increase in the number of pentavalent-1 (ß=0.23, p < 0.001) and 31.0 % increase in the number of pentavalent-3 (ß = −0.27, p < 0.001) vaccine doses that were administered facilities during the pandemic period. The strategies implemented to maintain immunization services during the pandemic period included providing messaging on the availability and importance of staying current with routine vaccination and conducting catch-up vaccinations and vaccination outreaches. Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact childhood vaccination services in Mombasa and Nakuru counties in Kenya. The private health facilities cushioned vaccination services against the effects of the pandemic and the strategies that were put in place by the ministry of health ensured continuation of vaccination services and encouraged uptake of the services during the pandemic period in the two counties in Kenya. These findings provide useful information to safeguard vaccination services during future pandemics.

AB - The recently emerged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide and disrupted health services. We describe the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on utilization of childhood vaccination services during the pandemic. Using a mixed methods approach combining retrospective data review, a cross-sectional survey, focus group discussions among care givers and key informant interviews among nurses, we collected data between May and September 2021 in Mombasa and Nakuru counties. Overall, there was a <2 % decline in the number of vaccine doses administered during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period but this was statistically insignificant, both for the pentavalent-1 vaccine (ß = −0.013, p = 0.505) and the pentavalent-3 vaccine (ß = −0.012, p = 0.440). In government health facilities, there was 7.7 % reduction in the number of pentavalent-1 (ß = −0.08, p = 0.010) and 10.4 % reduction in the number of pentavalent-3 (ß = −0.11, p < 0.001) vaccine doses that were administered during the pandemic period. In non-government facilities, there was a 25.8 % increase in the number of pentavalent-1 (ß=0.23, p < 0.001) and 31.0 % increase in the number of pentavalent-3 (ß = −0.27, p < 0.001) vaccine doses that were administered facilities during the pandemic period. The strategies implemented to maintain immunization services during the pandemic period included providing messaging on the availability and importance of staying current with routine vaccination and conducting catch-up vaccinations and vaccination outreaches. Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact childhood vaccination services in Mombasa and Nakuru counties in Kenya. The private health facilities cushioned vaccination services against the effects of the pandemic and the strategies that were put in place by the ministry of health ensured continuation of vaccination services and encouraged uptake of the services during the pandemic period in the two counties in Kenya. These findings provide useful information to safeguard vaccination services during future pandemics.

KW - COVID-19

KW - Pandemic

KW - Vaccination

KW - Essential health services

KW - Kenya

U2 - 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.09.023

DO - 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.09.023

M3 - Article

SN - 0264-410X

VL - 41

SP - 7695

EP - 7704

JO - Vaccine

JF - Vaccine

IS - 52

ER -

Resilience of routine childhood immunization services in two counties in Kenya in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this