Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on vaccination against meningococcal C infection in Brazil

Abstract

Objective: Analyzing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on meningococcal C conjugate vaccination in Brazil.

Methods: Ecological study, based on interrupted time series, carried out with data collected through the Information System of the National Immunization Program (IS-NIP). Collected data refer to the number of meningococcal C conjugate vaccine doses administered from March 2019 to December 2020.

Results: In total, 14,832,054 meningococcal C conjugate vaccine doses were administered throughout the investigated period; 66.30% of them, from March 2019 to February 2020 and 33.70%, from March to December 2020. Statistically significant steps were observed, i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic had negative impact on the number of MenC vaccine doses administered in the North and South regions (26,98% and 41.47%, respectively) and in the eleven Brazilian States.

Conclusion: The current study has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic had negative impact on the number of MenC vaccine doses administered in the Northern and Southern Brazil, and in eleven Brazilian states. Among all challenges experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, one finds reduced MenC vaccine coverage, which, consequently, may lead to increased meningococcal infection rates in Brazil.

Keywords: COVID-19; Meningococcal Meningitis; Vaccine-preventable diseases.

Fig. 1

Interrupted time series trend analysis based on Brazilian region and states, and on the Federal District. Note: Acre – AC; Alagoas – AL; Amapá – AP; Amazonas – AM; Bahia - BA; Ceará – CE; Distrito Federal - DF; Espírito Santo – ES; Goiás – GO; Maranhão – MA; Mato Grosso – MT; Mato Grosso do Sul – MS; Minas Gerais – MG; Pará – PA; Paraíba – PB; Paraná – PR; Pernambuco – PE; Piauí – PI; Rio de Janeiro – RJ; Rio Grande do Norte – RN; Rio Grande do Sul – RS; Rondônia – RO; Roraima – RR; Santa Catarina – SC; São Paulo – SP; Sergipe – SE; Tocantins – TO.