Push To Get More Kids Vaccinated For Preventable Diseases During Coronavirus Pandemic
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – There's a push to get more children vaccinated for diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"For parents, one of the things that we've noticed is a decline in the immunizations for children," Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.
While in Fort Myers, Gov. DeSantis feared for a rise in other preventable illnesses during the coronavirus fight.
"We have seen measles outbreaks in different parts of the country just before all this started. If you're not keeping up on that, that's a problem," the governor said.
The CDC published a report Friday showing an exponential drop in vaccines for children after the national emergency in mid-March.
Dr. Judy Schaechter is the pediatrics chair for University of Miami and she works with Jackson Health System.
"Children might come in looking like something they think is coronavirus or think is another illness that is at home, we could've prevented these symptoms with vaccinations," Dr. Schaechter said.
She says measles isn't the only concern. There's the whooping cough, haemophilus which causes bad headaches, seizure and difficulty breathing, and pneumococcus, which can cause pneumonia.
Dr. Schaechter says there's no reason to put you or your kids' health at risk since most offices have separate places for sick and healthy people.
"Additionally, most of us are only seeing well children during certain days or a particular time of day – in the morning. If we have to see sick children, many of whom we are managing outside," she said.
Offices are also requiring masks for everyone except if you're under 2.
Doctors recommend having babies in a carrier seat or stroller and putting a blanket over it to cover the baby.
Dr. Schaechter says numbers are starting to climb again for children under 2 who are getting vaccines. But it's still well below normal.
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