We’re all still in a pandemic recovery period and getting our lives back on schedule can be chaotic, from preventative healthcare to regular haircuts and beyond. For those with the next generation’s health in their hands, pediatric immunizations are especially important. Lately, many children have fallen behind on their vaccine schedules. Elisabeth Gehringer, D.O. and Associate Medical Director at Unity Care NW, recently sat down with WhatcomTalk to help encourage parents get back into the groove of their kids’ healthcare.
Why We Are Behind
“I’ve been seeing a pattern that kids have been falling behind on immunizations — the main challenge was related to the pandemic due to delay in care, and the result of those challenges was falling behind on their vaccine schedules,” says Dr. Gehringer. “Vaccines are a really important part of the well child check-ups that we have built into our visits.”
When preventative visits are delayed, a child’s vaccine schedule is delayed and thus everything is pushed back. “We have to catch up,” Dr. Gehringer says. “The well child visit is the opportunity for parents to sit down with their child’s provider, engage in conversation, and have questions answered.”
For a long time, many parents were concerned about taking their children to the doctor for preventative visits, hoping to avoid unwanted germs.
“Understandably, there was a lot of concern and fear around bringing children to their visits,” says Dr. Gehringer. “There was a lot of uncertainty in the beginning of the pandemic — we were still learning and figuring it out.”
After several years, the CDC guidelines surrounding COVID-19 prevention have helped streamline healthcare with the least amount of risk to patients. These guidelines have helped alleviate a lot of patient hesitancy. Masks are still required in health care settings, including your child’s doctor’s office reducing the chance of infection from many airborne illnesses, including COVID-19.
“Things are in a much better place for patients to come back into our clinics and get caught up on their preventative visits,” says Dr. Gehringer.
Scheduling Your Visits
It’s important to remember vaccinations have a recommended schedule for each immunization as some inoculations have multiple rounds. “The American Academy of Pediatrics has a well check schedule they recommend and an immunization timeline, which is especially important within the first 12 months of a baby’s life,” Dr. Gehringer says. “It’s crucial that kiddos get in routinely and I would encourage parents, knowing that wait times have been long, to call sooner rather than later.”
Unity Care NW helps parents remember when to bring their kids back in for their checkups with outreach enrollment and appointment reminders for patients.
Accessibility and Resources
Several resources are available for parents and guardians who find it difficult to schedule regular doctor visits for immunizations.
“The Whatcom County Health Department[MM1] is a good resource for vaccines,” says Dr. Gehringer. “They have a lot of resources for people and their families. The schools will have outreach opportunities and it’s also worth seeing if your clinic can fit you in for a vaccine appointment, even if you have a well child check scheduled out further.”
Often, schools will have free immunization clinics before the start of school, helping students get all caught up before classes begin.
Why Pediatric Vaccines are Important
Babies are born with immune systems that can fight most germs, but there are some serious and even deadly diseases they can’t handle. That’s why they need vaccines to strengthen their immune system.
Each vaccine protects against specific deadly illnesses and each of them, along with the timing of them, are very important because you need to build up your immunity,” Dr. Gehringer says. “The flu vaccine, for instance, is a one-time vaccine each year versus other vaccines that are done in a series.”
Gehringer explains that some groups are more susceptible than others to certain illnesses, leading to the necessity for others to get vaccines for their protection.
“Young children and geriatric patients are at risk for Whooping Cough and babies are too young for that vaccination, so we encourage all their family members to get that vaccination,” says Dr. Gehringer. “We have also seen several outbreaks in our community and country and there has been concerns about measles and pertussis outbreaks. It’s more important than ever to get caught up on these vaccinations.”
Flu Vaccine
Influenza rears its ugly head every year and schoolchildren can be especially vulnerable. It’s best to consider the flu vaccine for your children to help prevent dangerous illness.
“Even if it’s not 100% preventing illness, it does give you protection against the severity of symptoms,” Dr. Gehringer says. “It may be that you don’t feel very good after the vaccine, but at least you aren’t having severe illness that is resulting in hospitalization or death.”
COVID-19 Vaccination
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the world and, unfortunately, the virus isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Keeping up with vaccines and boosters is one of the best ways to prevent rampant, serious infections.
“When it comes to this vaccination, ,” “I would say this for anyone, including pediatric patients” says Dr. Gehringer, “for the majority of people, the benefits of vaccinations always outweigh the risk. It is one of the most effective ways we have to fight COVID-19.”
Since the height of the pandemic, information regarding any vaccines and the importance of staying up to date on immunizations is perhaps more evident than ever. Especially with pediatric patients, keeping a regular schedule and getting vaccines on time is undoubtedly vital to not only the wellness of the individual, but the health of a community as well.
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