Impact of COVID‐19 on polio vaccination in Pakistan: a concise overview

Abstract

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted immunization programs around the globe, potentially increasing life-threatening vaccine-preventable diseases. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries, which are still struggling to eradicate wild poliovirus. All vaccination campaigns in Pakistan were suspended in April due to the COVID-19 outbreak, leading 40 million children to miss out on polio vaccination. Like the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic could be regarded as a child-rights crisis because it could have life-threatening impact over children, who need immunization, now and in the long-term. Delays in polio vaccination programs might not have immediate impact but, in the long-term, the increase in polio cases in Pakistan could result in the global export of infections. Therefore, healthcare authorities must intensify their efforts to track and vaccinate unvaccinated children in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Polio vaccination campaigns need to resume immediately, so we suggest applying social distancing measures along with standard operating procedure to flatten the transmission curve of COVID-19. Furthermore, the concurrent emergence of cVDPV2 means that tOPV should temporarily be used for primary immunization. In the current review, we have discussed delays in polio vaccination, surveillance of polio viruses, reported cases in Pakistan along with recommendations to overcome interrupted immunization.

Evaluation of hematological parameters as an indicator of disease severity in Covid‐19 patients: Pakistan's experience

“…We, therefore, believe that the current study could provide more important literature while dealing with the cases of COVID-19 in the overburdened hospitals. 44,45 All the subjects in our study were Pakistani nationals and therefore our findings could hardly be inferred to other ethnic groups.…”

Eradicating polio in Pakistan: a systematic review of programs and policies

“…As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it is unclear the extent of the impacts it has had on polio vaccination rates. The disruption of polio vaccination programs to control the spread of COVID-19, continued social distancing, and supply issues may have serious long-term impacts on the progress made by the polio program [139]. Now, more than ever, it is essential that Pakistan scale up its polio efforts to vaccinate missed children during the disrupted vaccines campaigns.…”

“…In April 2020, polio vaccination campaigns and routine immunization programs across Pakistan were halted to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Staff and resources from the polio program were redirected in the fight against COVID-19, highlighting the strength of the program's infrastructure [18,19]. This strategy has unintentionally increased the susceptibility of already vulnerable children to vaccinepreventable diseases (VPD) such as polio [18].…”

“…Staff and resources from the polio program were redirected in the fight against COVID-19, highlighting the strength of the program's infrastructure [18,19]. This strategy has unintentionally increased the susceptibility of already vulnerable children to vaccinepreventable diseases (VPD) such as polio [18]. Although the government's response to COVID-19 has been lauded, it begs the question why has polio not had received the same political commitment [19].…”

Covid-19 Vaccination and Immunization Barriers in Pakistan

“…Deferrals in polio inoculation probably will not have a prompt effect but, in the long haul, the expansion in polio cases in Pakistan could bring about worldwide dissemination of infections. 8 This is of momentous concern as we have already failed to convince the public to adhere to polio vaccination and disruption in the program can lead to wastage of enormous efforts already contributed towards the program. Additionally, if this scepticism for COVID -19 vaccinations prevailed we will be stuck into Catch 22 for more epidemics and pandemics.…”