Decrease in immunizations is causing concern

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - There is a concern in the pediatric medical community that some children were not immunized during the shutdown.

Some parents may have feared contracting COVID-19 from a hospital setting.

Eastern Idaho Public Health Community Health Division Administrator, James Corbett, says it is important to immunize our children so that preventable outbreaks do not compound the already escalating COVID-19 situation.

“We can prevent diseases through these vaccines that we have available," Corbett said, "And that will avoid having an outbreak or increasing cases in those other diseases that are vaccine preventable.”

Todd Jacobs M.D., a pediatrician at The Pediatric Center in Idaho Falls, says there was a huge drop in well-child checks after Idaho started seeing coronavirus cases. One important aspect of well-child exams are immunizations.

“It was concerning to us that there are a lot of little ones out there that are not protected against preventable diseases that vaccines can protect them against,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs says summer is not a typical sick season for children like the winter time. A good portion of summer visits are made up of well-child checks. He said for one to two months, the Pediatric Center saw at least a 50% decrease in visits.

“We still have a lot of patients that are behind on their immunizations since the COVID-19  concern started," Jacobs said.

After businesses were allowed to reopen, people seemed to feel more comfortable returning to family doctor settings.

“More and more people are bringing their kids in that may be delayed by a month or two, their visits, and so they’re coming back, getting their immunizations, and so we are seeing an increase,” Jacobs said.

The Pediatric Center separated the office entrances for well children and sick kids to keep their patients safe.

“We have not told people to avoid coming in for their health checks, but we’ve definitely understood why some families would want to wait,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs says it is very important for parents to bring their children in to be immunized, especially young babies. School-aged children also need to be immunized before returning to school in the fall to avoid becoming carriers for diseases that may harm their baby brothers and sisters.

“We see it every year that when school starts, within a few weeks, the sick kids start coming in," Jacobs said. "And so illness is spread, there’s no question about that.”

The Pediatric Center has been keeping track of missing immunizations. They make reminder calls to get families up to date. Jacobs says the enter is not 100% caught up but well on their way.