“It is never too late to get caught up with a vaccine series.”
That message from Dr. Gigi Chawla, vice president and chief of general pediatrics at Children’s Minnesota, is sound medical advice for parents and students as the new school year looms. But it’s especially timely this year with new viral enemies such as COVID-19 still circulating and an older foe, polio, surfacing in New York.
Fall surges regrettably have been a predictable part of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, an unvaccinated New York resident has contracted polio. The virus has been detected in the city’s wastewater, suggesting wider local circulation.
Immunization can protect against both of those diseases, as well as measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, whooping cough and other pathogens. Multiple doses are often necessary for maximum protection and are required under state school immunization law (though exemptions exist).