Impact of COVID-19 on Routine Childhood Immunization Coverage in Plateau State Nigeria: A Five-year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted ninety percent of essential health services and routine childhood vaccinations globally with low- and middle-income countries worst affected. This study sought to compare the routine childhood immunization coverage of children in Plateau State pre and post COVID-19 and the level of recovery within the study period, 2018-2022. It also sought to determine if there was a difference in coverage between rural and urban areas in the State. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis of Penta-3 monthly immunization coverage data of all the local government areas in Plateau State between January 2018 and December 2022. Local government areas were categorized as rural and urban. Data was analyzed using IBM Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) Statistics version 25. Probability values of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.  Results: There was a significant difference in the State immunization coverage rates pre and post COVID-19 (p = 0.001).  The mean immunization coverage rate in 2022 was 10% higher than that of 2020 but this is still lower than the pre COVID-19 rate. The difference in the immunization coverage rates between rural and urban areas pre and post COVID-19 was also statistically significant (p = 0.001) with rural areas having higher immunization coverage rates. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for all stakeholders to adopt innovative patient centered, state owned, partnership based and data guided strategies in order to recover from the impact of the pandemic and to attain globally acceptable health services.