The summer months are typically the busiest of the year in Dr. Kenya Parks’ office, a steady flow of parents trotting in their little ones to receive immunizations required for school attendance.
But the numbers are way down this year, one more casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s quite noticeable,” said Parks, a pediatrician with UTHealth and UT Physicians, the practice of doctors at the University of Texas’ McGovern Medical School in Houston. “Parents who usually pack our offices around now instead are putting off or canceling or just not showing up for appointments. They’re scared.”
Such fear is a primary reason for an average 44 percent drop in the number of doses administered in the Texas Vaccines for Children program during the early months of the pandemic, according to a new state report. The trend puts Texas at risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks at a time it can least afford it.
The drop is particularly high for immunizations for measles — 55 percent — the highly infectious disease declared eradicated in the United States 20 years ago now experiencing a resurgence. It’s slightly higher in the Houston area, site of a measles outbreak in 2009 and identified in a study the same year as one of the nation’s hot spots, vulnerable to an even bigger outbreak.
The overall Texas trend is concerning because the state’s vaccination rates were bad even before the pandemic. The state last year failed to meet minimal national goals for eight of 11 immunizations and barely squeaked by for the three it did meet.
“It’s like we got an F in eight classes and a D- in three and now things are getting worse,” said Allison Winnike, president of the Immunization Partnership, a Houston-based vaccine advocacy organization. “That’s why it’s crucial parents call their pediatricians, get their kids in for their vaccinations if they’re not up to date.”
Texas isn’t alone in seeing the vaccination downturn. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in May found the weekly number of vaccinations decreased around the nation. Since COVID-19 began spreading, doctors ordered 2.5 million fewer doses from the Federal Vaccines for Children program administered the measles vaccine at a 70 percent lower rate.
todd.ackerman@chron.com
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