Current State of Vaccine Prophylaxis and Its Resource Supply in the Post-Pandemic Period: a Review

At present, the global community views vaccination as the most accessible and economically efficient infection control technology, a pathway to active longevity, and one of the most powerful public health tools with proven epidemiological effectiveness. The National Immunization Schedule (NIS) of the Russian Federation is constantly being improved in response to various challenges and changes in the epidemic situation. In recent years, the list of infections for which vaccines have been included in the NIS has expanded, including for epidemic indications; the vaccination strategy has changed in terms of expanding the indications for vaccination in the populations at risk. However, the existing system of vaccination coverage indicators in target groups does not allow for monitoring the timeliness of vaccination initiation, as it only considers those who have completed the immunization process. Vaccinations outside the target age groups do not ensure protection for infants, who are the most vulnerable to infection, and the catch-up and clean-up vaccination strategies do not quickly correct missed vaccination opportunities within the prescribed timelines, which has led to an unstable situation in recent years regarding several vaccine-preventable infections such as measles, pertussis, and mumps.

It should be noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the routine vaccination programs for children suffered significantly. A substantial disruption in immunization of varying degrees occurred in all regions monitored by the World Health Organization (WHO). As early as May 2020, in the first year of the pandemic, the WHO reported that at least 80 million children under the age of one year had missed vital vaccinations. The emerging problems can only be addressed promptly through the use of modern digital technologies, with the development of entirely new qualitative indicators for assessing the vaccination coverage of the pediatric population at all levels of outpatient care (local health districts, outpatient departments, ambulatory care centers) and educational institutions for children.

Lack of information on the timeliness of vaccination initiation in paper reports does not allow for prompt assessment and correction of the situation. The transition to digital technologies in vaccination reporting makes is possible to address these shortcomings in real time and implement corrective actions in a timely manner. Another key area in improving epidemiological surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases is the assessment of the extent to which disease incidence and transmission rates in a given area depend on preventive vaccination coverage, as well as the monitoring of vaccine composition compatibility with the antigenic profiles of circulating genetic variants of pathogens — activities that require modern resource support.