A recent survey serves as a small snapshot of a nationwide problem that may heighten some fears in the fall as children return to school for instruction.
Click to expand
FOLLOWING
The national survey, released Wednesday and conducted by Orlando Health, found the vast majority of parents believe that vaccines are the best way to protect their children from infectious diseases, but two-thirds are still nervous about taking their children to the office from their pediatrician due to COVID -19.
Load error
While only about 700 of the 2,000 respondents were parents of children under 18, children say the survey reflects the trend they are seeing in their offices, where they have seen a decline in vaccinations for children since the pandemic.
Start the day worse. Get the news you need in your Inbox every morning.
Dr. Mary Carol Burkhardt, director of primary care at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, said she has seen a drastic decline in vaccinations against all diseases since March and that volume of patients has yet to recover.
She worries that this could lead to an outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles or pertussis, also called whooping cough.
“All it will take is a case of measles entering our community and we will see loss of life that is completely and utterly unnecessary,” said Dr. Alix Casler, a pediatrician and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics for Orland Health Physician Associates. “It can be difficult for people to understand how important universal vaccinations are because they have never seen how devastating these diseases can be.”
Dr. Margot Savoy, associate professor and department chair of family and community medicine at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia, said knives can also be dangerous because they do not appear to appear in one case at a time, but instead pop. in clusters, with multiple people in one pocket becoming ill.
“We’ve had more cases of measles in the last two years than we’ve had in a decade,” she said. “And it looks like it’s crawling.”
Covid fax: Federal spending on candidates for COVID-19 faxes tops $ 9 billion, spread among 7 companies
Race to a fax: Vladimir Putin says that Russia has registered a vaccine for coronavirus, and that his daughter has received it
Experts claim that missed vaccinations are important not only for the patients themselves, but also adults and other children who have not received vaccinations, including children under the age of 1 who are not yet old enough to receive their first dose of the vaccine for the to receive mice. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list of vaccine schedules can be found here.)
© Manjurul, Getty Images / iStockphoto
MMR vaccine held in hand with syringe in background
The only reason we have herd immunity against so many diseases is because up to 90% to 95% of children are vaccinated, Casler said, but no one will be safely accepted if the country falls below that level.
“Families have been on the verge of having fewer and fewer child vaccinations, but during this crisis … the amount of vaccinations has plummeted,” said Dr Rahul Gupta, chief medical officer at the March of Dimes and former West Commissioner of Health. Virginia. “There is no doubt that there will be a resurgence of other diseases.”
While it is not certain if the new school year will bring a new outbreak, doctors say it is not outside the realm of possibilities.
Before knives, Savoy said, she’s most worried about flu. As more schools push back start dates, parents feel less pressured to vaccinate their children for the flu.
“That makes me incredibly nervous, because influence kills more children if we give credit for it,” she said. “We forget how deadly flu can be for children.”
Click to expand
FOLLOWING
All 50 states have legislation requiring specific faxes for students, but 45 states and Washington, DC, grant religious exemptions, according to the National Conference of State Legislature. Fifteen states allow philosophical exemptions for those who object to immunizations because of personal, moral, or other beliefs.
“Every person in a daycare or school … who is aware of their vaccinations is essential,” Burkhardt said. “(It’s) important for those who are in schools, but important for everyone, because it can also spread a community.”
Experts suggest parents who miss their children’s planned vaccinations to call their doctor and come up with a plan to pick them up.
Savoy says it is never too late for a child to be vaccinated and they probably will not have to start a vaccine series again if they have already received the first dose. She advises parents who are nervous about COVID-19 to schedule a telemedicine appointment first so that the trip to the doctor’s home can be quick and easy.
“We worked so hard to eradicate (knives), it would be sad to go back the other way,” she said.
Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.
Coverage for health and patient safety at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Do New School Year Measurements Like Flu Outbreaks? Doctors are worried because children are missing scheduled vaccinations
Video: Diagnosing an Ear Infection Without Visiting a Doctor (WUSA-TV Washington, DC)
Click to expand
FOLLOWING
Continue reading
