Pediatric Vaccination Lost in the Shuffle During COVID-19: A Quiz

If I had to define the state of pediatric vaccine administration during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, I would go with “lost in the shuffle.” Based on an online dictionary definition of the term, ie, “lost, ignored, or forgotten amid a confusing mix of things or during a chaotic situation,” it’s a perfect description of what happened.

Primary care visits for both well and sick visits dropped precipitously, resulting in many deferred routine vaccines. A recent study in JAMA looked at up-to-date (UTD) routine vaccination rates in September 2020 and compared those with the rates in 2019, pre-COVID-19. Data were compiled from 8 US health systems and included roughly 1.4 million children from both time frames. What do you think they found? Answer the 3 questions below for details.