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Routine childhood vaccination rates down
Kids will be back to school before we know it, and health officials are concerned, saying the number of children who need routine vaccinations is still lagging far behind pre-pandemic levels.
SEATTLE - Kids will be back to school before we know it, but health officials are concerned, saying the number of children who need routine vaccinations is still lagging far behind pre-pandemic levels.
The Berkowitz family spent their Monday enjoying the summer with a stop at Green Lake for some fun on the playground, but the kids will be heading back to school very soon. While they may still need to pick up some school supplies, when it comes to their health, they are ready to go.
"At this point, we are pretty caught up to date on all routine vaccinations," said Berkowitz, pointing to his two sons, "These guys go back in mid-August."
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) said not all kids and parents are as prepared.
"We’ve seen a decrease in our vaccination coverage pretty much across the board," said Dr. Scott Lindquist with DOH.
The department said the pandemic impacted routine childhood vaccination rates for things like measles, mumps and pertussis for more than two years, with the vaccination coverage still lagging behind in 2022.
"It’s been harder and harder to get parents to bring their kids in for a lot of good reasons," explained Lindquist, "you come into a medical facility, your chances of COVID are higher, so we’ve had this natural response to wait and see and hold back."
DOH reports that the overall number of childhood vaccinations in 2021 decreased by 13% when compared to pre-pandemic levels, with vaccination coverage declining the most in the youngest age groups.
Specifically, coverage decreased 9.6% in kids between 19–35 months old, and nearly 4% in the 4–6 year age group. Vaccination coverage decreased by 3.6% in the 11–12 year age group.
The only group of children that didn't see lowered immunization rates during the pandemic were 13–17 year olds, who saw a 1.8% increase.
"Probably because they came in for their COVID shots, because you remember, they were the ones that got COVID right away," said Lindquist, "and so once they were in, we gave them their HPV vaccine or tetanus booster."
Since vaccinations are required for kids attending school, he advised that caregivers and parents schedule appointments now. He said the rush to get into a clinic for vaccinations could significantly increase as the school start dates approach, because so many caregivers have been holding off.
Washington's hospitals 'dramatically over capacity,' WSHA says it's not COVID-related
The high patient loads aren’t directly because of COVID-19 cases, although they are increasing, but due to delayed procedures and difficulties discharging hospital patients.
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"Get in early and get your preventive health care done now, so you are ahead of a big wait when the school year starts," said Lindquist.
Lindquist said in addition to scheduling those routine vaccinations, now is also a good time to get your kids' hearing screenings, vision screenings and lead screenings, as well.