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. 2022 May:158:107025.
doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107025. Epub 2022 Mar 19.

Missed routine pediatric care and vaccinations in US children during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Chloe A Teasdale  1 , Luisa N Borrell  2 , Yanhan Shen  2 , Spencer Kimball  3 , Rebecca Zimba  4 , Sarah Kulkarni  5 , Madhura Rane  5 , Michael L Rinke  6 , Sasha A Fleary  7 , Denis Nash  4
Affiliations

Missed routine pediatric care and vaccinations in US children during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Chloe A Teasdale et al. Prev Med. 2022 May.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has decreased uptake of pediatric preventive care, including immunizations. We estimate the prevalence of missed pediatric routine medical visits and vaccinations over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of 2074 US parents of children ≤12 years in March 2021 to measure the proportion of children who missed pediatric care and vaccinations over the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Poisson regression models were fitted to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR). All analyses were weighted to represent the target population. Overall, 41.3% (95%CI 38.3-43.8) of parents reported their youngest child missed a routine medical visit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Missed care was more common among children ≥2 years compared to <2 years (aPR 1.82; 95%CI 1.47-2.26) and Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic Whites (aPR 1.31; 95%CI 1.14-1.51). A third of parents (33.1%; 95%CI 30.7-35.5) reported their child had missed a vaccination. Compared to the 2019-20 flu season, pediatric influenza vaccination decreased in 2020-21 (51.3% vs. 62.2%; p < 0.0001). A high proportion of US children ≤12 years missed routine pediatric care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Catch-up efforts are needed to ensure continuity of preventive care for all children.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts; no authors have financial interests.

Figures

Fig. 2
Fig. 1
Receipt of influenza vaccination among US children ≤12 years of age in 2019–20 vs. 2020–21 – parental report (survey conducted March 2021).
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Medical care attended by US children ≤12 years during the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic as reported by parents (as of March 2021).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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