United States: According to the Minnesota Department of Health, around one-third of Minnesotans who are younger than two years old are not yet immunized by their recommended vaccines.
During Infant Immunization Week, the state Department of Health worked to raise awareness so that parents don’t make delays or show reluctance to have their infants vaccinated despite the recommendations given by their doctors.
Jessica Hancock-Allen, the division director of infectious disease for the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), said, “We do know the more people that are vaccinated, the less likely we are to see the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases,” as kstp.com reported.
About the declining number of vaccinations
It is pointed out by the same organization that the number of infants who, bar recent mandate by physicians, are less than others and are receiving the vaccines has drastically reduced.
The drop in the coverage has been significant, from 69 percent in the year 2019 to 63 percent in the year 2023.
Hancock-Allen stated, “During COVID-19, for the multitude of different reasons, lots of folks fell behind on their primary care visits,” and, “There [also] continues to be some concerns around vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, and then just the truth is parents of kids, especially of young kids, are very busy.”
Effects on infants due to vaccine delay
During the season of the spread of serious illnesses, infants without immunization gathered from vaccine shots have been left vulnerable to infection.
Minnetonka High School, on Thursday, raised the alarm to families, where several students were found to have contracted pertussis, which is commonly known as whooping cough.
Moreover, the district health care officials have written to families, “While routine vaccinations do help to protect against pertussis, they are not foolproof but can reduce the severity and length of illness compared to those not vaccinated.”
Normally, the ideal age to receive the first whooping cough shot is when the infant is two months old. Moreover, as per MDH, the disease is highly severe if contracted by an infant.
Jessica Hancock-Allen said, “Our goal is really to get as many kids that can get vaccinated, vaccinated,”
Dr. Gigi Chawla, the chief of general pediatrics for Children’s Minnesota, said, “It can be incredibly devastating for families,” “Kids are often hospitalized with dehydration and respiratory concerns, oftentimes in the ICU and some kids can even die,” as kstp.com reported.
About the MMR vaccination
According to Dr. Chawla, “We’re at a point where the community rates of MMR vaccination are low enough where it doesn’t offer enough protection as we would like for kids under the age of one or for those who can’t get vaccinated,”
Moreover, Lynn Bahta, an immunization clinical consultant for MDH, said, “Because measles spreads so quickly, it will seek out whoever is vulnerable,” and, “The virus that causes measles is very small, which means if one person was sick with measles and they sneeze or they cough, or even if they’re talking or crying, those tiny viral particles will go out into the air. Unlike some of our heavier germs, the measles germ or the virus tends to float in the air for a long time.”