Covid vaccination to non covid vaccinations as well. Abstract citation ID: ckac131.413 Impact of COVID-19 on flu vaccination among pregnant women in a Teaching Hospital in Rome

citation ID: ckac131.413 Impact of COVID-19 on flu vaccination among pregnant women in a Teaching Hospital in Rome


Background:
According to WHO, UNICEF, GAVI and the Sabin Vaccine Institute data, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the disruption of routine vaccinations in at least 68 countries. In March '20, the WHO published a guide to help countries continuing their provision safely to prevent unnecessary visits and hospitalizations: especially flu vaccination is paramount to reduce respiratory illnesses and their burden on healthcare systems. For the flu season 2021-22, the Italian Ministry of Health recommended prioritizing flu vaccination for pregnant women. This study aims at comparing flu vaccination rates between pre-pandemic and pandemic periods in pregnant women attending a birthing preparation course at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A.Gemelli IRCCS (FPG) in Rome.

Methods:
A repeated cross-sectional study was carried out in FPG during two flu epidemic seasons (October '19-January '20 and September '20-January '21), when two different cycles of birthing preparation courses were held (face-to-face and online, respectively). Pregnant women and their partners attending them were offered flu vaccination at FPG. A 2 test was performed to compare vaccination rates, with statistical significance set at p = 0.05.

Results:
In 2019-20, 48 out of 119 women and 39 men out of 119 attending the course accepted flu vaccination, while in 2020-21 they were respectively 88 out of 317 and 89 out of 317. Overall vaccination compliance among pregnant women was significantly higher in 2019-20 than in 2020-21 (40.3% and 27.8% respectively, p = 0.012), while the difference was not significant among their partners (32.8% and 28.1% respectively, p = 0.337).

Conclusions:
The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected flu vaccination adherence among the pregnant women involved. Fear of contagion and access to facilities closer to their home could be potential key drivers. These results represent an important warning on flu vaccination attitudes during the pandemic: more actions are needed to improve compliance. Key messages: COVID-19 might have hindered access to immunization services for at-risk populations, such as that of pregnant women. From a Public Health point of view, more actions are needed to harmonize interactions between hospitals and local national health services to improve vaccination compliance.

Background:
Increasing vaccination uptake among vulnerable groups constitutes a high priority across Europe. Access to Vaccination for Newly Arrived Migrants (AcToVx4NAM) is a 3-year project (Grant n 101018349, 3rd EU Health Programme) with a mission to increase vaccination uptake in Newly Arrived Migrants (NAM) regardless of legal status. AcToVx4NAM will improve health system Vaccination Literacy (VL) and vaccination access, by making access conditions more equitable and guaranteed.

Methods:
Across 8 countries research took place to identify barriers, enablers and solutions to system level problems. Qualitative analysis through focus groups and interviews took place with professionals who work with NAMs including administrative personnel, cultural mediators, policy officers as well as physicians, nurses, social and mental health care professionals. Research examined barriers across the different dimensions that constitute the ActoVax4NAM General Conceptual Framework namely Entitlement, Reachability -Adherence (vs. hesitancy), Achievement of vaccination (execution and completion) and Evaluation.
Results: A number of common system level barriers were identified related to gaps in the registration process and problems in reaching people eligible for vaccinations. Not all NAMs face the same problems in terms of accessing the health system (i.e asylum seekers vs economic migrants). Communication breaks exist between the various services involved with delivering care and vaccination to NAMs while the lack of appropriate culturally sensitive and appropriate informative material still remains. The role of non-medical personnel in promoting vaccinations was emphasized as well as the importance of evaluating and disseminating best practice.

Conclusions:
Findings direct to specific evidence based solutions with an emphasis on tailored made to specific needs activities. Key messages: Shift focus from individual level barriers to system level barriers considering all hubs of the vaccination process.
2022. Primary studies investigating the Covid-19 vaccines impact on male and female fertility, were included. Studies' quality was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa and the Before and After Quality Assessment scales for cohort and pre-post studies, respectively. Random-effect meta-analyses were performed for parameters considered in 2 studies, calculating means, p-values and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs). I 2 statistics was used to assess statistical heterogeneity.

Discussion:
There is no scientific proof of any association between Covid-19 vaccines and infertility in men or women. Misinformation and doubts about vaccines should be properly addressed.

Key messages:
The doubts regarding Covid-19 vaccines' impact on both male and female fertility resulted to be unfounded. Covid-19 vaccines remain the most important weapon to fight the pandemic.
It is important to keep providing to public opinion and health care providers evidence-based scientific information, in order to effectively combat misinformation and antivaccines campaigns.

Background:
People in prison report high rates of drug use and drug-related problems and people who use or inject drugs (PWUD) have higher rates of offending and an increased likelihood of spending part of their lives in prison. They represent a vulnerable population with high burden of diseases, socioeconomic disadvantages and limited access to healthcare. In this study, we aimed to describe the lifetime prevalence (LTP) of heroin use, injected drug use and opioid agonist therapy (OAT) among people living in prison.