Docs urge kids’ routine vaccinations after missed shots amid pandemic
Fox News
Parents should contact pediatricians now for annual physicals, experts say, after pandemic-related closures spurred a marked decline in children’s routine immunizations.
An updated vaccine claims-based analysis released by the healthcare consulting firm Avalere for September-November 2020 found persistent declines in the number of administered vaccines among adolescents and adults, finding an up to 35% decline in non-flu vaccine given to adolescents, and an up to 40% drop in shots administered among adults in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, with an estimated 26 million missed doses across both age groups from January-November 2020. "There’s a long list of reasons why many people just didn't make it to the doctor's office and we’re seeing this now in kids as they head back to school and the effects of it," Dr. Tanya Altmann, LA-based pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, told Fox News. "For some, it’s simply missed immunizations, but for others, there are conditions that we missed picking up whether it was talking to the parents about weight issues, scoliosis, anxiety or asthma."More Related News