The impact of COVID-19 on routine vaccinations in Taiwan and an unexpected surge of pneumococcal vaccination

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had substantial impacts, including disruptions in routine vaccinations. In Taiwan, COVID-19 was relatively controllable, and the reduction in routine vaccinations was not profound. The impact of the pandemic on vaccination remained unclear. We collected vaccination uptake data at our hospital and analyzed the weekly trends of different vaccines. We calculated the monthly number of vaccinations and compared consumption before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (year 2019 vs years 2020 and 2021). Except for self-paid pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV13), a mild (14.6%, p < .001) monthly decrease in government-funded routine vaccination and a moderate (28.2%, p = .018) monthly decrease in self-paid vaccination were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, an unexpected surge of PCV13 vaccination occurred with a 355.8% increase. The shortage of COVID-19 vaccines and the potential benefits of PCV13 against COVID-19 may have contributed to this surge. In conclusion, our study found an obvious disruption of vaccination rates in Taiwan during the COVID-19 epidemic. However, an increase in PCV13 vaccination was also observed, and the important role of the infodemic was emphasized.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted routine vaccinations in Taiwan, with a decrease in government-funded and self-paid vaccinations. However, there was a significant increase in PCV13 vaccination during the pandemic, possibly due to the shortage of COVID-19 vaccines and potential benefits of PCV13 against COVID-19. The infodemic's important role in influencing vaccination rates was highlighted.