Child Vaccinations Dropped During Pandemic: CDC

NEW CITY, NY — Health officials have a new concern resulting from the coronavirus pandemic: While the practice of social or physical distancing has been quite effective in slowing the spread of that disease, there has been a significant decline in vaccination rates for the 14 preventable childhood diseases.

An investigation by Scientific American found that rates of childhood immunization fell in the spring as the pandemic began across the country, raising the risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks.

It's not good news, said Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert Rockland County Health Commissioner.

"Rockland has experienced firsthand the impact of delaying or refusing immunizations," she told Patch. "The almost one-year (2018-2019) measles outbreak in our county totaled 312 reported cases, mostly in children, before it was contained."

The Centers for Disease Control described "a notable decrease in orders" for vaccines in a report this spring, with 2.5 million fewer doses ordered from the Federal Vaccines for Children program.

Dr. Cornelius Ferreira, chair of Primary Care at Nuvance Health, said they continued to vaccinate pediatric patients through the pandemic.

"We reserved Monday mornings for these visit types and were able to support those patients needing vaccines using our safety precautions," Dr. Ferreira told Patch. "That being said, there was a decrease in well-child visits as a result of our initial transition to virtual visits and parents being reluctant to have their children coming into our practices for well-child visits. Our practices have now increased in-person visits and as a result are seeing an increase in these visits and thus the vaccines that accompany said visits."

The drop could be a factor in the reopening of schools in New York, where children attending day care and pre-K through 12th grade, including public, private, and religious schools, must be vaccinated unless they have a medical exemption.

Schools will reopen if the region they're located in is in phase 4 of the state's reopening plan and that region's daily infection rate remains at 5 percent or lower over a 14-day average. Schools will close if the regional infection rate is above 9 percent on a 7-day average after Aug. 1, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

SEE: Cuomo Unveils Formula For NY Schools To Open — And Stay Open

The Hudson region is in phase 4 and the daily positivity rate was under 1 percent, Cuomo said in his news briefing.

The vaccines required in New York:

• Diphtheria and Tetanus toxoid-containing vaccine and Pertussis vaccine (Dtap/DTP/Tdap)
• Hepatitis B vaccine
• Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR)
• Polio vaccine (IPV/OPV)
• Varicella (Chickenpox) vaccine
• Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY)
• Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (HiB)
• Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine (PCV)

The decline in orders and administration began the week after the national emergency declaration.

Vaccinations have begun to rebound; for example in Connecticut the number of doses issued by the health department jumped in June by 32 percent over the previous June, the Hartford Courant reported.

Health officials in the Hudson Valley urge parents of children who have fallen behind in childhood immunizations to contact their child’s physician to get back on track.

"Vaccines not only help protect children and their family, but also help protect entire communities, especially those who cannot get vaccinated because they are too young or have specific health conditions, by preventing and reducing the spread of many infectious diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and pertussis (whooping cough) that could result in serious health problems," Dr. Ruppert said.

The Rockland County Department of Health’s Child Immunization Clinic can assist families with recommended childhood vaccinations. If families are uninsured, underinsured (insurance does not cover vaccines), or on Medicaid they may call 845-364-2497 for more information and to make an appointment.