Myanmar's coup risks a flood of vaccine-preventable disease

Lwin, Kaung Suu; Ghaznavi, Cyrus; Win, Khine Lae; Gilmour, Stuart; Hashizume, Masahiro; Nomura, Shuhei

doi:10.7189/jogh.12.03060

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Diseases that were once feared and inspired a desire for vaccination are now remarkably less prevalent, and some publics are skeptical about vaccinations due to concerns arising from side effects of vaccinations[ 1 ]. In addition, regional or worldwide outbreaks may cause a reduction or interruption in vaccination coverage, including regional conflicts and pandemics[ 9 - 11 ]. The COVID-19 outbreak that started in December 2019 globally caused disruptions or reductions in vaccination coverage, in which routine pediatric vaccination coverage was also severely affected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on routine childhood vaccinations

Lv,

Wang,

et al. 2024

World J Virol

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Routine pediatric vaccination is one of the most effective public health inter-ventions for the control of a number of fatal diseases. However, during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, routine pediatric vaccination rates were severely affected by disruptions of health services and vaccine confidence issues. Governments and the United Nations have taken measures to re-establish routine pediatric vaccination, while additional efforts are needed to catch up and develop plans to ensure routine vaccination services for the future pandemics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on routine childhood vaccinations

Lv,

Wang,

et al. 2024

World J Virol

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“…The proportion of children who received their third dose of diphtheria-containing vaccine declined rapidly, falling from 84% in 2020 [20] to 37% in 2021 [20]. Fears of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases followed [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Struggling to Resume Childhood Vaccination During War in Myanmar: Evaluation of a Pilot Program

Poe,

(none),

(none)

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background. After the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, the health system began to disintegrate when staff who called for the restoration of the democratic government resigned and fled to states controlled by ethnic minorities. The military retaliated by blocking the shipment of humanitarian aid, including vaccines, and attacked the ethnic states. After two years without vaccines for their children, parents urged a nurse-led civil society organization in an ethnic state to find a way to resume vaccination. The nurses developed a vaccination program, which we evaluated. Methods. A retrospective cohort study and participatory evaluation were conducted. We interviewed the healthcare workers about vaccine acquisition, transportation, and administration and assessed compliance with WHO-recommended practices. We analyzed the participating children’s characteristics. We calculated the proportion of children vaccinated before and after the program. We calculated the probability children would become up-to-date after the program using inverse survival. Results. Since United Nations agencies could not assist, private donations were raised to purchase, smuggle into Myanmar, and administer five vaccines. Cold chain standards were maintained. Compliance with other WHO-recommended vaccination practices was 74%. Of the 184 participating children, 145 (79%, median age five months [IQR 6.5]) were previously unvaccinated, and 71 (41%) were internally displaced. During five monthly sessions, the probability that age-eligible zero-dose children would receive the recommended number of doses of MMR was 92% (95% confidence interval [CI] 83%-100%), Penta 87% (95% CI 80%-94%); BCG 76% (95% CI 69%-83%); and OPV 68% (95% CI 59%-78%). Migration of internally displaced children and stockouts of vaccines were the primary factors responsible for decreased coverage. Conclusions. This is the first study to describe the situation, barriers, and outcomes of a childhood vaccination program in one of the many conflict-affected states since the coup in Myanmar. Even though the proportion of previously unvaccinated children was large, the program was successful. While the target population was necessarily small, the program's success led to a donor-funded expansion to 2,000 children. Without renewed efforts, the proportion of unvaccinated children in other parts of Myanmar will approach 100%.

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Struggling to resume childhood vaccination during war in Myanmar: evaluation of a pilot program

Poe,

Emily,

Aurora

et al. 2024

Int J Equity Health

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Background After the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, the health system began to disintegrate when staff who called for the restoration of the democratic government resigned and fled to states controlled by ethnic minorities. The military retaliated by blocking the shipment of humanitarian aid, including vaccines, and attacked the ethnic states. After two years without vaccines for their children, parents urged a nurse-led civil society organization in an ethnic state to find a way to resume vaccination. The nurses developed a vaccination program, which we evaluated. Methods A retrospective cohort study and participatory evaluation were conducted. We interviewed the healthcare workers about vaccine acquisition, transportation, and administration and assessed compliance with WHO-recommended practices. We analyzed the participating children’s characteristics. We calculated the proportion of children vaccinated before and after the program. We calculated the probability children would become up-to-date after the program using inverse survival. Results Since United Nations agencies could not assist, private donations were raised to purchase, smuggle into Myanmar, and administer five vaccines. Cold chain standards were maintained. Compliance with other WHO-recommended vaccination practices was 74%. Of the 184 participating children, 145 (79%, median age five months [IQR 6.5]) were previously unvaccinated, and 71 (41%) were internally displaced. During five monthly sessions, the probability that age-eligible zero-dose children would receive the recommended number of doses of MMR was 92% (95% confidence interval [CI] 83–100%), Penta 87% (95% CI 80%–94%); BCG 76% (95% CI 69%–83%); and OPV 68% (95% CI 59%–78%). Migration of internally displaced children and stockouts of vaccines were the primary factors responsible for decreased coverage. Conclusions This is the first study to describe the situation, barriers, and outcomes of a childhood vaccination program in one of the many conflict-affected states since the coup in Myanmar. Even though the proportion of previously unvaccinated children was large, the program was successful. While the target population was necessarily small, the program’s success led to a donor-funded expansion to 2,000 children. Without renewed efforts, the proportion of unvaccinated children in other parts of Myanmar will approach 100%.

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Myanmar's coup risks a flood of vaccine-preventable disease

Cited by 3 publications

References 4 publications

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on routine childhood vaccinations

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on routine childhood vaccinations

Struggling to Resume Childhood Vaccination During War in Myanmar: Evaluation of a Pilot Program

Struggling to resume childhood vaccination during war in Myanmar: evaluation of a pilot program

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