Effects of Decreased Immunization Coverage for Hepatitis B Virus Caused by COVID-19 in World Health Organization Western Pacific and African Regions, 2020

Abstract

The World Health Organization–designated Western Pacific Region (WPR) and African Region (AFR) have the highest number of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted childhood immunization, threatening progress toward elimination of hepatitis B by 2030. We used a published mathematical model to estimate the number of expected and excess HBV infections and related deaths after 10% and 20% decreases in hepatitis B birth dose or third-dose hepatitis B vaccination coverage of children born in 2020 compared with prepandemic 2019 levels. Decreased vaccination coverage resulted in additional chronic HBV infections that were 36,342–395,594 in the WPR and 9,793–502,047 in the AFR; excess HBV-related deaths were 7,150–80,302 in the WPR and 1,177–67,727 in the AFR. These findings support the urgent need to sustain immunization services, implement catch-up vaccinations, and mitigate disruptions in hepatitis B vaccinations in future birth cohorts.

Keywords

• hepatitis B virus
• COVID-19
• respiratory infections
• severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
• SARS-CoV-2
• SARS