Medical facilities ready to give children immunizations, even during pandemic
An unintended consequence of COVID-19 has been a drop in child immunization rates.
In May, the Oregon Health Authority reported a 75% decline in vaccinations in March and April. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that routine vaccination orders and child “well visit” appointments fell nationally.
“It’s understandable that parents have had concerns about potentially exposing their children or themselves to coronavirus,” said Tammy Quirk, a registered nurse who works at Kaiser Permanente’s Chase Gardens medical office building. “But like all medical facilities, we have established strict protocols to protect our patients whose health concerns can’t be addressed through telehealth appointments.”
Immunizations require office visits. At Kaiser Permanente, safety steps for face-to-face appointments include all patients and staff wearing face protection, conducting temperature checks at the clinic’s entry, and having a “well child/baby” hall that is separate from where sick patients are seen.
Quirk points out that during this pandemic, it’s important to continuing building a child’s immunity to preventable diseases. Some vaccines require several doses to gain full immunity, so whether school is live or remote this fall, now is the time to be sure your child’s immunizations are current.
Quirk, who has a master's degree in nursing and 30 years of nursing experience, said, “Children will either get sick with a preventable disease or get the vaccine — and it’s better to gain the immunity without getting sick first.”
She points out that children younger than 5 don’t have fully functioning immune systems, which means they benefit from vaccinations to ward off measles, mumps, chicken pox, hepatitis and other preventable illnesses.
She likens immunizations to buying insurance for a child’s future. Still, it may be difficult for a parent to experience their child’s discomfort when a vaccine is administered. She felt that way, too.
“I’m a mom first and a nurse second; you know the benefits of immunizations, but it doesn’t relieve your concern about your child’s temporary pain.” She looked at the lifelong benefits of immunizations versus the fleeting moment when the vaccine was administered. In fact, she recommends grouping immunizations as the recommended schedule permits; that way, the child doesn’t have to go through repeated appointments.
“Afterward, your child may get a low-grade fever or have a reaction at the site of the shot. That’s the immune system doing its job,” she explains. “The body is defending against something it hasn’t seen before, which causes it to start making antibodies. Then, if your child is exposed to the disease later, the immune system will recognize it and fight it off.”
Without immunizations, children are vulnerable if disease outbreaks occur. Last year, Oregonians saw what can happen when measles — one of the most contagious diseases — affected 71 residents; in 2017, worldwide measles cases killed 110,000 people. When the vast majority of children are immunized, though, it protects the child as well as the community. It can be difficult to keep track of the recommended vaccines and their schedules, but Kaiser Permanente and other medical offices have reminder systems to prevent those care gaps.
The pandemic doesn’t have to change the way we safeguard our children’s lives. Love them, protect them and immunize them.
More information on Kaiser Permanente’s Chase Gardens Medical Clinic is at kp.org/lane.