The aim of the study was to identify factors associated with missed routine immunization in children ages 0-12 months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zamboanga City. This study employed a cross-sectional, analytical design to investigate the association between patient-related, health service-related and COVID-19-related factors to missed pediatric routine immunization. The study had a total participant count of 377 primary caregivers. Data gathering was done from the period of February 2021 to March 2021 through an online Google form which comprised of 3 sections: patient-related (socio-demographic, knowledge and perception) factors, health service provider-related factors and COVID-19-related factors. The study utilized two statistical tools which are univariate analysis and logistic regression to determine the significant factors that are associated with missed immunization. The result showed that 56.2 percent (n=212) of the children have missed a routine vaccination during the pandemic. For patient-related factors, respondents with educational level of high school (OR=2.30, p=0.022) and a nonmedical line of work (OR=8.95, p=0.000) have shown association to missed routine immunization. Moreover, incorrect knowledge regarding the importance of vaccination (OR=4.70, p=0.000) and presence of side effects (OR=2.66, p=0.043), as well as negative perception that vaccination is beneficial even in the midst of a pandemic (OR=3.14, p=0.000), have shown to be also associated with missed vaccination. For health service-related factors, two factors have shown to be associated with missed routine immunization which are receiving vaccines from a health center (OR=1.73, p=0.037) and caregivers’ preference of postponing vaccination during pandemic (OR=2.497, p=0.001). Lastly, for COVID-19 pandemic-related factor, restricted movements due to lockdown (OR=3.57, p=0.007) is the only significant factor associated with missed routine immunization in children ages 0-12 in Zamboanga City. These factors should be considered during the formulation and implementation of strategies and policies to solve the increasing number of children who are incompletely immunized in Zamboanga City especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keyword: Factors affecting routine childhood immunization During the COVID-19 pandemic