Fear of COVID leading to healthy kids missing out on necessary vaccines

Covid-19 Pandemic Scares Many Away From Routine Pediatric Visits

During the first few months of the Covid-19 crisis, many patients, especially parents with young children, canceled routine doctor visits. This is understandable, as very little was known about the virus and its transmission. Indeed, many doctor’s offices essentially shut down and offered urgent care only, or referred their patients to hospital emergency departments. Unfortunately, the result of this was that many young children missed appointments in which they should have received essential vaccinations and now many children are behind on their shots. This unintended consequence of postponing routine care may wind up causing outbreaks of some of the more contagious diseases that we have not seen much of in many years, such as measles, pertussis and chickenpox. PLEASE, if you have a child who has missed out on vaccination visits this year, especially a child under 2 years old, call your pediatrician’s office to discuss ways to get caught up on your child’s vaccines.