Prioritising immunisation across the life course

Vaccines recommended in pregnancy against pertussis, tetanus, or influenza, or all, are established tools to protect not only pregnant women, but also infants during the vulnerable postnatal period.3 Although country-specific data are emerging that show that maternal vaccine uptake declined in 2020,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lancet (British edition) 2021-12, Vol.398 (10317), p.2145-2145
Main Authors: Saso, Anja, Skirrow, Helen, Kampmann, Beate
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Babies
Coronaviruses
Correspondence
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
Disease transmission
Humans
Immunization
Infants
Influenza
Life Change Events
Pandemics
Pertussis
Polls & surveys
Pregnancy
Public health
Safety measures
Tetanus
Vaccination
Vaccines
Whooping cough
Womens health
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Summary:Vaccines recommended in pregnancy against pertussis, tetanus, or influenza, or all, are established tools to protect not only pregnant women, but also infants during the vulnerable postnatal period.3 Although country-specific data are emerging that show that maternal vaccine uptake declined in 2020,4 to date, no similar global estimates of COVID-19-related disruptions to these services have been published. The IMmunising PRegnant women and INfants neTwork (IMPRINT), a global, interdisciplinary collaboration of key stakeholders in maternal and infant vaccinology, captured the grassroots experiences of changes to vaccine delivery among our network members by an initial online survey in April, 2020.5 We reported issues from 18 countries across five continents related to service access (eg, logistical barriers) and provision (eg, staff shortages), as well as user concerns over attending appointments.5 1 year on, in May, 2021, we repeated this survey, and it is evident that routine maternal and infant vaccination programmes are yet to fully recover, despite the local or national measures, or both, implemented to mitigate disruption. Efficiency and safety of maternity services need to be prioritised, with clearer communication to women on potential risks as well as any specific safety measures implemented.6 Pregnant women are also at risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19.7 Promoting and delivering COVID-19 immunisation itself in pregnancy, already recommended in many countries, not only confers protection8 but might be one effective strategy to mitigate the current interruptions to antenatal vaccination programmes.3 Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/Getty Images All authors are members of IMPRINT, which is funded by UK Research and Innovation and the Global Challenges Research Fund.
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02331-X