TY - JOUR T1 - Childhood immunisations in India during the COVID-19 pandemic JF - BMJ Paediatrics Open JO - BMJ Paediatrics Open DO - 10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001061 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - e001061 AU - Anita Shet AU - Baldeep Dhaliwal AU - Preetika Banerjee AU - Andrea DeLuca AU - Kelly Carr AU - Carl Britto AU - Rajeev Seth AU - Bakul Parekh AU - Gangasamudra V Basavaraj AU - Digant Shastri AU - Piyush Gupta Y1 - 2021/04/01 UR - http://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/5/1/e001061.abstract N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major disruptions in the delivery of essential health services including routine immunisation services in many countries, setting the stage for potentially serious population health effects. The WHO reported major disruptions to vaccination services in countries around the world, and estimated that approximately 80 million children under the age of 1 were living in countries where routine immunisation services were disrupted and could potentially be at risk of developing a vaccine-preventable illness.1 Evidence from previous epidemics has demonstrated that even temporary interruptions of routine immunisation services can lead to secondary public health crises, such as outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, amplifying morbidity and mortality.2 This commentary explores the possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunisations in India.Results from a survey of Indian paediatricians3 amplify a growing chorus around the globe calling for a focus on vaccine-preventable illnesses, even as COVID-19 cases grow worldwide. This comes at a pivotal time in India’s ongoing pursuit to improve immunisation coverage. The national immunisation programme run by the Government of India is one of the largest in the world, with an annual reach of over 26 million children and 29 million pregnant women.4 Mission Indradhanush was launched in 2014 to extend this reach and achieve full immunisation for 90% of children, and the programme was further intensified in 2019.4 5 While remarkable progress has been made, there is evidence of existing inequalities in coverage.6Early in the pandemic, soon after the lockdown was announced, there were major disruptions in health services, especially in women and children’s services. Movement restrictions were likely to have disrupted strategies used … ER -