COVID-19 impact on vaccination calendar realization

Abstract

Introduction. All countries in the world have their own vaccination policies, which are influenced by the economic, political, sociological and geographical situation as well as the epidemiological hazards in a given country. In the territory of Poland, there is an obligation to implement the Preventive Vaccination Program. High level of vaccination makes it possible to achieve population immunity, which strengthens the epidemiological safety. In Poland, for several years now, we have seen the strengthening of attitudes of reluctance, doubt and even hostility towards vaccinations. This unfavorable situation is the result of the activities of antivaccination movements, low health awareness, religious beliefs, lack of trust in health care institutions and the influence of mass media. Vaccination, the implementation of which was previously standard, has now proven to be a challenge. The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic made access to vaccination difficult. The reason was interruptions in the supply of vaccines. The hope to eradicate Covid– 19 and stabilize, remains vaccination. It represents a tremendous opportunity to immunize the public against infection and gain control of SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission.
Aim. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the vaccination calendar..
Materials and methods. The study was conducted on the legal guardians of the patients of the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic signed for preventive accination. The research sample consisted of 100 persons. The study was conducted on the premises of Centrum Medica Sp. z o.o. Prof-Med branch in Włocławek, in which a diagnostic survey and estimation method were used. A survey technique was used in the study. The research tools were STAI – State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and own questionnaire..
Results. Slightly more than half of the respondents admitted that the coronavirus pandemic makes the visit to the clinic to vaccinate their child more stressful than before, while 43.0% felt no additional stress because of it. Respondents had mixed opinions about vaccinating their child against COVID-19. The study revealed that 63.0% would not vaccinate their child and 36.0% were in favor of vaccination. The self-analysis also revealed that the pandemic does not affect opinions about vaccines, 45.0% believe that vaccination is needed and justified and only 1.0% are against it. A fairly significant percentage of respondents had no opinion on the impact of the pandemic on attitudes toward immunization (39.0%). Anxiety as a state and as a trait did not differentiate perceptions of increased stress when visiting the clinic for a child’s vaccination. Anxiety as a state and as a trait differentiated respondents’ opinions about vaccinating their child against COVID-19. The data showed that those who definitely declare the desire to vaccinate their child against COVID-19 had significantly higher levels of anxiety as a state than individuals who are more likely to want to vaccinate their child or more likely not to do so. Anxiety as a state is also slightly lower among respondents who are definitely unwilling to vaccinate their child against coronavirus than those who are definitely willing to do so. The data show that those who say they would not vaccinate their child against COVID-19 have the highest levels of anxiety as a trait
than those who would definitely vaccinate their child. There are also slightly higher levels of anxiety among those who are rather willing to vaccinate their child against coronavirus than those who are rather reluctant to do so. The data show that the highest levels of anxiety as a state were found among vaccine opponents pandemic, and among those whose opinions about ivaccination were positively affected by the pandemic. The lowest level of anxiety as a state was found among respondents with no opinion on the impact of the pandemic on opinions about immunizations and among those who still believe that vaccinations are justified..
Conclusions. Changes in social functioning resulting from the coronavirus pandemic caused a slowdown in the vaccination calendar. The pandemic caused additional stress on children’s immunization schedules but did not change respondents’ attitudes about the need for immunizations. Anxiety as a state and as a trait differentiated parents’ attitudes toward vaccinating their child against COVID-19, and anxiety as a state differentiated opinions about the impact of the pandemic on immunization.