Routine childhood immunizations in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency

During the COVID-19 pandemic, non-COVID-19 patients refrained from going to medical institutions because of the threat of infection. This study analyzed whether the number of routine childhood immunizations decreased during the state of emergency declared because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. A questionnaire requesting the number of routine vaccinations was sent to 23 local medical associations in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The vaccination counts for the period December 2019 through July 2020 were compared with those in the same period of the previous year after adjusting for the 2019 and 2020 child population ratios. There was no significant reduction in vaccinations during the state of emergency (April–May 2020) compared with the same period in 2019, and the vaccination counts increased further after the state of emergency was lifted. The state of emergency owing to the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly reduce the number of routine childhood immunizations in Hiroshima Prefecture.