Data from the Michigan Care Improvement Registry were analyzed to evaluate whether childhood vaccination rates have changed during the pandemic. Each age cohort included an average sample size of 9,269 (2016-2019) and 9,539 (2020).
Vaccination coverage declined in all age groups except for hepatitis b vaccine at birth.
Among children aged 5 months, up-to-date vaccination status decreased from approx. 67% (2016-2019) to only 49.7% in May 2020. 
Coverage for the 16-month age group decreased 6% from May 2019 to May 2020. 
Overall, the number of noninfluenza vaccine doses administered and reported
for all children aged ≤18 years decreased 21.5%.

Decline in Child Vaccination Coverage During the COVID-19 Pandemic — Michigan Care Improvement Registry, May 2016–May 2020

A study conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluated the number of admissions for 6 common emergency conditions (stroke, myocardial infarction, COPD, heart failure, pneumonia, and appendicitis) and COVID-19 for the first 16 weeks of 2019 and 2020. The study participants came from a pre-established cohort of adults enrolled with the VA from 2008-2018.  The authors found a decline by 42% fewer patients admitted to the VA hospital during weeks 11-16 compared to weeks 5-10. The authors compared these declines to the same timeframe for 2019, during which they found no change from weeks 5-10 to weeks 11-16.

*The authors attribute the decline in emergency condition admittance to minimizing risk for contracting SARS-CoV-2.

Admissions to Veterans Affairs Hospitals for Emergency Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

- Decreased accessibility to routine healthcare 
- Decreased usage of hospitals for emergency conditions

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Countries have implemented multiple control strategies for reducing the spread of COVID-19, such as closing schools and businesses to enforce social distancing.

Struggle pertaining to controlling the virus:
The epidemiology of the respiratory virus changes rapidly. Reponses have to be nimble. Given that everyone is susceptible to for which we lack effective biologic interventions, the response has required large-scale behavior change, including social distancing and public masking.

Control Strategies for COVID-19

Physical distancing, also known as social distancing, is being used as a strategy to delay the progression of COVID-19 by reducing direct transmission of infection. The three most used methods are:
Physical Distancing,
Isolation,
Quarantine

Physical Distancing to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

 - Implementation of control strategies decreased R$_t$ in  China
 - Decreased effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention efforts in African American/Black and Latino populations
 - Association between decreased hospitalizations and stay-at-home orders in four states in U.S.
 - International travel restrictions have little-to-no effect on local COVID-19 epidemics
- Survey in Singapore reveals important information regarding public's adherence to COVID-19 preventative policies

Effectiveness of Control Strategies for COVID-19

Consequences of Control Strategies for COVID-19

Face masks are thought to reduce or prevent transmission of the viral particles through aerosol transmission. The usage of face masks is a controversial topic whose efficacy is disputed by governments, researchers, and the public. Health officials in the early stages of the pandemic advised against the use of face masks for various reasons, although recent developments in the area of research may influence their perspectives.

Face Masks to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

1. Washing your hands
2. Maintain distance
3. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
4. follow good respiratory hygiene
5. Stay home if you feel unwell
6. Keep up to date on the latest COVID-19 hotspots
7. Disinfecting your home if someone is sick

Individual Protection Measures for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19

Weekly surveillance testing along with isolation would more effectively limit COVID-19 outbreaks than the slow and expensive (yet precise) qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) testing method that is currently employed.

Testing Strategy for Controlling COVID-19 Outbreaks

- Social distancing
- Stay at home orders
- Maximum persons to group gatherings
- Mass testing
- Disinfectant protocols
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- International/national travel restrictions


List of social (and prevention) policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic

- Governments around the world have responded to SARS-CoV-2 with unprecedented policies designed to slow the growth of infections.
- Many policies impose large and visible costs on society, but their benefits cannot be directly observed and are only currently understood through process-based simulations. 
- The objective of this study is to measure the direct health benefits of anti-contagion policies, specifically, how much of these policies slowed the growth rate of  infections. 

Effectiveness of Large-Scale Anti-contagion Policies

- BioRxiv
- Health Affairs 
- JAMA
- Journal of Clinical Nursing
- Nursing Education in Practice 
- The BMJ
- The Lancet
- Nature
- New York Times
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)


References for Control Strategies of COVID-19 by Journal and News Outlets

Celum, C., Al., E., Interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci on progress made during the past four decades of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and ongoing efforts to end this threat.&nbsp;(18:44), Author AffiliationsFrom the Departments of Global Health (C.C., Interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci on progress made during the past four decades of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and ongoing efforts to end this threat. (18:44), J. H. Beigel and Others, . . . M. J. Mina and Others. (2020, May 22). Covid-19, Ebola, and HIV - Leveraging Lessons to Maximize Impact: NEJM. Retrieved October 09, 2020, from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2022269?query=featured_coronavirus

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