ArticlePloS one2023
Impact assessment of immunization and the COVID-19 pandemic on varicella across Europe using digital epidemiology methods: A descriptive study.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of immunization strategies, public health and social measures on the incidence of varicella among children aged 0-14 years in Quzhou City.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2026Article
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- Universal varicella vaccination programmes in European countries and their effect: A systematic review.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Article
- Paediatric invasive group A streptococcal infections and associations with viral infections in 15 European countries after lifting non-pharmaceutical interventions against SARS-CoV-2: an interrupted time-series analysis.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Changes in Epidemiological Characteristics of Varicella and Breakthrough Cases in Ningbo, China, From 2010 to 2023: Surveillance Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- Analysis of antibody dynamics in Chinese children aged 1-3 years after single-dose varicella vaccination: A 42 months prospective study.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2024Article
- Article
- Clinical effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 on other nationally notifiable infectious diseases in South Korea.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2024Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVaricella is usually a mild disease in children but may be life-threatening, especially in adolescents and adults. Infection control measures implemented during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have suppressed varicella transmission, potentially creating an 'immunity debt', particularly in countries without universal varicella vaccination.
objectivesTo assess trends in Google search engine queries for varicella keywords as a proxy for varicella infection rates and to evaluate the effect of universal varicella vaccination on these trends. A further objective was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on varicella keyword search query trends in countries with and without universal varicella vaccination.
methodsThis study used the keyword research tool, Google Trends, to evaluate trends in time series of the relative search query popularity of language-specific varicella keywords in 28 European countries from January 2015 through December 2021. The Google Ads Keyword Planner tool was used to evaluate absolute search volumes from March 2018 through December 2021.
resultsThe relative search query popularity of varicella keywords displayed marked seasonal variation. In all 28 countries, the relative search query popularity of varicella keywords declined after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020), compared with pre-pandemic levels (range, -18% to -70%). From April 2020 to July 2021, a period of intense COVID-19 transmission and infection control, absolute search volumes for varicella keywords were lower than pre-pandemic levels but rebounded after July 2021, when infection control measures were relaxed.
conclusionThis evaluation of search query trends demonstrated that search query data could be used as a proxy for trends in varicella infection rates and revealed that transmission of varicella may have been suppressed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consideration should be given to using search query data to better understand the burden of varicella, particularly in countries where surveillance systems are inadequate.
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