Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on HPV Vaccinations in Switzerland and Greece: Road to Recovery

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant interruptions of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccinations in Europe resulting in a substantial number of adolescents missing an opportunity to get protected against HPV. Although a slow recovery in vaccination rates was observed, the dose deficit remains uncleared. This study aims to estimate the cumulative number of vaccine doses missed due to pandemic and capacity required to clear the deficit in Switzerland and Greece.

METHODS: A published COVID-19 recovery tool (Saxena 2022) was used to project the dose deficit accumulated due to the pandemic and to estimate the expected time and vaccination catch-up rates required to clear the deficit in Switzerland and Greece. Country-specific monthly number of HPV vaccine doses disseminated before (2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) was used to estimate the cumulative deficit at the start of the catch-up period commencing in March/2022 and September/2022 in Switzerland and Greece, respectively.

RESULTS: Compared to 2019, the decrease in the number of HPV vaccines disseminated during the first pandemic year (2020) was -14.8% in Switzerland and -4.8% in Greece; during the second year (2021), a decrease of -12.3% was observed in Greece and 7.9% in Switzerland. The dose deficit accumulated until the commencement of a catch-up period was -24.4% in Switzerland and -20.4% in Greece. To clear the dose deficit by December 2025, monthly vaccination rates need to be increased by 6.2% (910 additional doses/month) and 6.0% (715 additional doses/month) compared to 2019 rates in Switzerland and Greece, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The projected cumulative deficit of missed doses during the COVID-19 pandemic was substantial in both Greece and Switzerland. A sustained increase in vaccination rates over the upcoming years will be required to reverse the deficit and prevent long-term public health and economic consequences.