As we observe World Immunisation Week, the implications of COVID-19’s spread for routine childhood vaccination delivery are already becoming clear. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, reports that 14 national campaigns against vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio, measles, and cholera have already been postponed. As a result of this, 13.5 million people in some of the most challenging settings worldwide will miss out on vaccination. Yet, as recent modelling work using data from Africa shows, the health benefits accrued from childhood vaccination vastly outweigh the risk of contracting, and dying from, COVID-19 during immunisation clinic visits.
This blog considers childhood vaccination delivery in the context of COVID-19, and proposes how to sustain, and ideally expand, delivery in the face of tightening resource constraints.
Any organization or individual working in the field of immunization economics can submit findings, opportunities, calls to action, or other relevant work below to be shared with our community.