TDH encourages parents to keep up with well visits and childhood vaccines

Critical that all children are up-to-date with their childhood vaccinations

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The Tennessee Department of Health issued a statement last week, in honor of National Infant Immunization Week, urging families to stay on track for routine checkups and vaccinations for their children despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know there are thousands of children in Tennessee who are behind on vaccinations because of the pandemic,” Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP, said. “It is critical that all children are up-to-date with their childhood vaccinations, so they are protected and so that Tennessee avoids additional disease outbreaks.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who has been the leading authority on public health and what steps should be taken to ensure the health and safety of Americans during the current health crisis, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, has recommended that children continue to attend well-child appointments and receive the recommended routine childhood vaccinations during the pandemic.

Both organizations have stressed the importance of routine health maintenance, saying that on-time vaccinations are becoming more urgent as in-person and learning and play are resuming and becoming more common.

“There is no reason to avoid regular EPSDTs [Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment] which included childhood vaccines for children under 21,” Katina Huff, PA-C, of Providence Family Medicine in Sparta, said, adding that concerns for contracting diseases at a doctor’s office are warranted but that all medical offices have safety protocols in place to keep both healthy and sick patients safe. “It is more dangerous to avoid routine visits that might detect a medical issue that, if caught early, can make a huge impact in treatment. Please make routine health and immunizations a priority.”

The Tennessee Department of Health has been striving to remind parents and pregnant women about the importance of on-time infant and childhood immunizations even during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are encouraging parents to reach out their child’s medical provider, or even a county health department, to schedule any missed appointments and get back on track with all recommended vaccinations.     

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