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The American Academy of Pediatrics calls on parents to get their children up-to-date on shots before they return to class.
Routine childhood vaccinations dropped dramatically during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, and although they began rebounding last summer as families rescheduled doctors’ visits, many children and adolescents are behind on their shots, according to a federal health report released Thursday.
The lag might pose “a serious public health threat” of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses, such as measles and whooping cough, that have the potential to derail school-reopenings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With health-care systems overburdened, CDC is recommending that providers givecoronavirus vaccines on the same day as other vaccines, especially when children and teens are behind or in danger of falling behind on recommended shots. The CDC changed its guidance last month to allow for coronavirus shots to be given at the same time as others. Continue reading.