Routine Shots Drop Sharply

American Academy of Pediatrics

 Child Vaccination Across America

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in April that fewer kindergartners received the standard, state-required immunizations during the pandemic. The news didn’t surprise pediatricians, who, during extended periods of lockdowns and school closures, saw fewer families coming into their offices for routine checkups and vaccines. Missed vaccines were also attributed to “a groundswell of resistance to Covid-19 shots spilling into unease about other vaccines,” say Benjamin Mueller and Jan Hoffman:

During the 2020-21 school year, about 94 percent of kindergartners had the required vaccines, a drop of roughly one percentage point from the previous school year, the C.D.C. said. That pulled coverage levels below the target of 95 percent, raising fears that life-threatening childhood illnesses like measles could at some point become more prevalent.

“This means there are 35,000 more children in the United States during this time period without documentation of complete vaccination against common diseases,” Dr. Georgina Peacock, the acting director of the C.D.C.’s immunization services division, said at a news conference on Thursday. “This is further evidence of how pandemic-related disruptions to education and health care could have lingering consequences for children.”

 

The AAP has an interesting interactive map (see the image above) showing how states differ in promoting routine childhood immunizations in order to protect the health and well-being of  children and communities. Pennsylvania does quite well in that regard compared to other states:

Some communities in the United States have experienced disease outbreaks because of lower immunization rates in their area. Higher immunization rates protect vulnerable children who are too young to be vaccinated or who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, making immunizations an essential response to COVID-19 and other diseases.

 

Globally, the situation is much worse. Stephanie Nolen reports additional factors that have resulted in “the largest backslide in routine immunization in 30 years.” Food insecurity and rising rates of malnutrition exacerbate the threat of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases in children:

Millions of children around the world, most of them in the poorest countries, missed some or all of their childhood vaccinations over the past two years because of a combination of conflicts, climate emergencies, misinformation campaigns, pandemic lockdowns and Covid vaccination efforts that diverted resources, according to a new analysis from Unicef, the United Nations agency that vaccinates half the world’s children, and the World Health Organization.

“This is an emergency for children’s health — we have to think about the immediate stakes, the number of children that are going to die because of this,” said Lily Caprani, head of advocacy for Unicef. “It’s not in a few years’ time; it’s quite soon.”

 

An estimated 25 million children, mostly in underdeveloped countries in East Asia and the Pacific region, are now lacking immune protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, and other potentially deadly diseases:

Experts said this “historic backsliding” in vaccination coverage was especially disturbing since it was occurring as rates of severe malnutrition were rising. Malnourished children typically have weaker immune systems and infections like measles can often prove fatal to them.

“The convergence of a hunger crisis with a growing immunization gap threatens to create the conditions for a child survival crisis,” the U.N. said.

 

The news serves as a reminder to American parents to make sure they get their kids scheduled to see their pediatrician or family doctor to get caught up on immunizations before school begins next month. It’s important for parents to know that it’s safe and well worthwhile to give children COVID-19 shots at the same time other routine vaccines are administered.

It’s a small world. Don’t delay. Give your medical home a call today and let’s keep kids up-to-date on life-saving vaccines.

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2022/07/18/routine-shots-drop-sharply/