8 With control strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 affecting childhood and mass immunization campaigns worldwide, millions of children are now at risk of other deadly vaccine preventable diseases. 8 When immunization programs are stopped or interrupted for any reason, we may observe an increasing number of vaccine-preventable infections and related deaths, in addition to a fraction of the population that became susceptible to diseases that were controlled or even eliminated. At the same time, immunization practices in all age groups, especially routine childhood vaccines, have also been interrupted, delayed, re-organized, or completely suspended. 6, 7 This has resulted in a disruption of commerce, travel, and health care During times of quarantine, routine health-care services and elective surgical procedures have been stopped in many health-care settings, and health-care professionals have been organized in such a way as to support or prioritize the care of increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients. While the impact of COVID-19 varies among countries worldwide, through these measures, societies are trying to reduce the use of healthcare facilities by decreasing the spread of the virus and minimizing virus-related morbidity and mortality rates. 3–5 Since there is still no effective treatment or vaccine, measures implemented for the control of COVID-19 include non-pharmaceutical interventions (including serious curfews in some countries), canceling mass gathering activities, and mandating social distancing, school closures, and travel restrictions. 2 Although the disease occurs in all age groups, mortality is mostly seen in older people and individuals with co-morbidities. By August 2020, there were almost 20 million confirmed cases worldwide and well over half-million deaths. 1 COVID-19 is the acute respiratory disease caused by this new virus. In December 2019, a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was first reported in Wuhan, China, and rapidly spread throughout the world, resulting in a pandemic within 3 months. Routine pediatric immunizations of individual children at clinics, mass vaccination campaigns, and surveillance for VPDs must continue as much as possible during pandemic. We will, inevitably, see serious consequences related to suboptimal control of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) in children concurrent with or following the pandemic. Numerous high-income as well as low- and middle-income countries are now experiencing a rapid decline in childhood immunization coverage rates. During times of quarantine, immunization practices in all age groups, especially routine childhood vaccines, have also been interrupted, delayed, re-organized, or completely suspended. Since there is still no effective treatment or vaccine, non-pharmaceutical interventions have been implemented in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 related disease (COVID-19) is now responsible for one of the most challenging and concerning pandemics.
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