Q: My son has missed some shots during the pandemic. Should he get them now?
A: The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption in the health care system's ability to provide routine preventive and nonemergent care. Childhood vaccination rates in the U.S., for example, significantly decreased early in the pandemic. Pediatricians ordered 2.5 million fewer doses of vaccines early in the pandemic, according to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Similar trends were seen in Tennessee, where a 26% decline in childhood immunizations was noted by the Tennessee Department of Health. Although rates in Tennessee have returned to prepandemic numbers, catch-up vaccinations are occurring at a slower rate, leaving many children vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases.
Immunizations are one of the most powerful and fundamental disease-prevention tools in the history of public health, according to the World Health Organization. The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends vaccines that protect children against 16 diseases. Because of the success of vaccines, many diseases that were once commonplace such as smallpox, rubella and measles have become rare or have been eliminated from the U.S. Prioritizing well child care and immunizations is important to protect children and their communities from outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
If your child has not visited his pediatrician in a long time, make an appointment to visit the doctor so he can get up-to-date with his vaccine schedule as well as to get other missed care like hearing, vision and developmental screenings.
The pandemic has definitely reminded us of the importance of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases. It is too early to know if the current COVID vaccines will join the list of recommended annual vaccines, but knowing that they are now available to anyone 16 years and older, with ongoing trials for children as young as 6 months, is exciting and a step toward ending this pandemic.
Fernando Urrego, M.D., is the interim health officer at the Hamilton County Health Department and a member of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society.
Contributed Photo / Dr. Fernando Urrego