What we know about why some kids are missing routine vaccinations

Some children across the country have fallen behind on routine immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic, with vaccination rates dropping by several percentage points in some counties.

Pediatricians and other health officials say the decline in routine immunizations is worrying because cases of polio – a vaccine-preventable disease – are popping up in other parts of the world.

Sloan Freeman, MD, a pediatrician at St Michael’s Hospital and an assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Pediatrics.

Some experts say there could be several reasons why someone shouldn’t get vaccinated, but don’t think hesitation is the main reason. Those who spoke to CBC News suspect school closures during the pandemic, reallocation of public health resources and staff and a greater focus on COVID-19 vaccines may be behind the decline.

“It’s a good wake-up call that we need to be more diligent and perhaps provide additional resources to catch this group of children because we know they are missing out,” said Julie Pettinger, a University of British Columbia professor of pediatrics and a vaccine safety scientist. At the Vaccine Evaluation Center in British Columbia

Low vaccination rates

Pediatricians across Canada said they saw more unvaccinated babies than usual at this time of year.

Just this week, Dr. Fatima Kakkar, an infectious disease physician and professor of pediatrics at the University of Montreal, saw children who had never received a tetanus vaccine. She says it is “surprising to see how much” they are not protected.

“For the most part, it’s the younger kids who missed their regular appointments during the peak of the pandemic and never got to catch up.”

Recent statements made by government officials in Alberta and Saskatchewan drop show in vaccination rates for many routine vaccinations.

in AlbertaMost immunization coverage rates have declined compared to 2020. Among them, the second dose of MMR vaccine among seven-year-olds, with district coverage increasing from 79.2 percent to 75.8 percent in 2021.

in Saskatchewan, Data from June 2021 A comparison of data up to June of this year shows that immunization coverage has declined among two-year-olds. While 76.4 percent of 2-year-olds were immunized against pertussis with four doses in June 2021, only 73.4 percent were vaccinated against the disease by the end of June.

Regional pertussis immunization rates also declined among 7-year-olds over the same time frame in that county.

The drop in vaccination coverage may not seem like much, but one pediatrician says the changes are amazing.

“You’re actually looking at hundreds of children who are now either late or non-immunised,” said Dr. Aisha Korji. , a pediatrician in Saskatoon and assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

Freeman said Ontario is seeing “really very low coverage” of school immunization programs.

The number of 12-year-olds in Ontario who were vaccinated against conjugated meningococcal (MCV4), human papillomavirus (HPV), and hepatitis B at school decreased significantly When comparing data From the academic year 2019-2020 to 2020-2021.

During the 2019-2020 school year, about 70 percent of 12-year-olds started the HPV vaccine series but did not complete it. Coverage dropped to about 20 percent the following school year.

“We really need to make sure that they are going to be harmed and that these immunization programs are ongoing and well resourced going forward,” Freeman said Wednesday during an online media event organized by the Ontario Medical Association.

Why drop off?

Last month, UNICEF said about 25 million children around the world She missed routine immunizations against common childhood diseases, calling them a “red alert” for the health of the child.

Pettinger says school-age children are hardest hit in Canada, where they usually receive routine vaccinations at school. But due to the epidemic affecting its prevalence in schools, vaccination has not always occurred.

“We may have at least two years of children who may have missed out on those vaccinations,” she said.

She added that the COVID-19 immunization programs that have been deployed across the country require a lot of order.

“The resources required are kind of mind-boggling, to be honest. And that’s certainly been a public health priority for the past couple of years, so many other routine public health activities have not been adequately resourced,” she said.

A Quebec spokesperson said that fewer routine vaccinations have been given in schools because nurses have been redistributed to vaccinate COVID-19, schools have closed for parts of the pandemic and students have been absent due to the outbreak.

But, they added, regional health authorities have tried to catch up with students who missed school vaccinations in 2020 and 2021.

Government spokesmen from Ontario and Manitoba say the redeployment of public health staff during the pandemic has also affected data collection.

Freeman says families, too, have not been able to access the health care system as they had before the pandemic.

Corgi said some parents have also postponed routine vaccinations because they were concerned about interactions with the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s why she says that guardians should address their concerns with their health care provider.

“If you have questions, be sure to ask … everyone who vaccinates, what you do and how you help them answer your questions and all your concerns,” she said.

Pettinger added that vaccinating enough children against diseases such as measles and polio is something Canadian public health officials have struggled with for years.

according to 2017 federal datamost recent available, all provinces and territories have failed to meet the national immunization target of 95 percent for many routine childhood vaccinations.

But Bettinger cautions against assuming low vaccination rates among some children due to reluctance to take the vaccine. This may exist, she said, but it is a smaller proportion of people than those whose children may not have been vaccinated due to access.

“The pandemic has really stopped services,” she said.

“We know that there is a huge body of evidence showing that the easier it is for a parent to vaccinate their child, the more likely the child is to be vaccinated.”

COVID-19 Vaccines

As families prepare for the return to school in the next few weeks, Freeman wants guardians to also consider vaccinating their children against COVID-19.

federation Numbers showed that 42.44 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 had completed their primary series. In the 12-17 year age group, approximately 19 percent completed their initial series and received a booster dose.

“if it was [COVID-19 cases] “Come up, we really want to protect our kids,” Freeman said.

How can more children be vaccinated?

Freeman said public health units need to think of innovative solutions to administer routine vaccines, especially to reach disadvantaged or marginalized populations.

Making it easier, with school immunization recommended because kids are already in school and easy to reach, according to Freeman and Pettinger.

“The easier we make it, the more likely people are to do it,” Pettinger said.