Pandemic-era babies falling behind on immunizations

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This article was published 04/04/2023 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic may not be up to date with their recommended immunization schedules, according to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

The Meningococcal C Conjugate (Men-C-C) vaccine is recommended for infants at 12 months of age according to Manitoba Health; however, data from the Manitoba Public Health Information Management System, which tracks vaccination rates by birth cohort, shows immunization rates dropped 6.2 per cent in 2021.

“Prior to the pandemic we saw around 84 per cent coverage, but when we look at the children born in 2019, 2020 and 2021, we notice a downward trend and that is a concern for us,” said Dr. Bunmi Fatoye, a medical officer assigned to monitor the Winnipeg Health Region’s public health funded immunization program.

High coverage rates are important to prevent infection and are reported publicly. Maintaining population coverage rates protect vulnerable people who cannot be immunized due to reasons such as medical contraindications.

“A threshold where when 90 per cent of the population is immunized and covered is the ideal state,” Fatoye said.

“In the event the bacteria enter into the community it’s not able to go further because we have less of a susceptible cohort to be infected. The vaccine primes the body to recognize an infection and fight it off.”

While there could be many factors for a dropping vaccination rate, these birth cohorts experienced an interruption in health-care services most likely due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions, Fatoye said.

“We noticed that the numbers were not where we would have loved them to be,” she said.

Meningococcal bacteria are common in the environment and transmitted through the respiratory tract. When infants and small children get exposed and do not have the vaccine, they are at significant risk of contracting meningococcal disease, which can present as meningitis or septicaemia when the brain or blood gets infected.

“Kids could be very sick and be admitted to the hospital,” said Fatoye, who cautioned that though the disease is rare it can be serious and leave long-term problems such as brain damage and long-term disability from severe complications.

“One in three children develop permanent complications and one in 10 may die even with treatment.”

While there is so much going on for parents and caregivers, Fatoye hopes this message will lead to conversations with health-care providers as well as increase awareness about the importance of immunizations and access to credible sources of information.

“The Manitoba Government public health website has fact sheets people can read and understand more about the vaccine(s) and why it’s important,” she said.

Recommended immunization schedules for infants and recommended school-age immunization schedules are available.

The publicly funded immunization program is monitoring additional vaccines administered at 12 months of age and expects drops in those boosters as well.

Infants receive the MMRV vaccine to protect against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chicken pox), common viruses and not bacteria found in everyday environments, Fatoye said. The Pneumococcal Conjugate 13 valent (Pneu-C-13) vaccine, which protects against streptococcus bacteria, is also administered.

“We’re just not seeing all those diseases that we used to see pre the vaccine era,” Fatoye said.

“It’s very important to have high coverage rates. We know vaccines are safe and effective (they) protect us from illness and save lives.”