Doctor’s appointments amid coronavirus: What if your child is due for a vaccine?
Coronavirus is keeping some families inside, but parents may not want to let it stop them from getting routine vaccinations for their kids.
That’s because vaccines help protect babies and children against measles, whooping cough and other potentially deadly illnesses, health experts say.
“During this pandemic, about the last thing we need is to start an outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles on top of COVID-19,” the Washington State Department of Health wrote Tuesday on Medium.
That’s why the state recommends children continue to get their shots — especially if they are babies or young children.
Still, kids could be at risk of getting the coronavirus during a visit to the doctor’s office, according to Harvard Medical School.
Parents may be able to put off vaccines if their kids are older than 2 and have up-to-date immunizations, experts say. While weighing the risks of making an appointment, Harvard says it’s best for parents to reach out to their child’s pediatrician.
Doctors who care for kids are advised to consider adjusting their office operations, including designating specific areas or appointment times for sick patients, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“Immunizing the youngest children is top priority” when it comes to patients who are healthy, the academy told doctors.
What about regular checkups?
Those should also continue for babies, Good Morning America reported.
“It’s really important to still make sure that we’re doing the preventive care that keeps babies safe from other types of infections,” Dr. Rachel Thornton of Johns Hopkins Medicine told the news outlet.
The recommendations come as babies and children across the country have died after testing positive for COVID-19.
Though most reported coronavirus patients are adults, younger people can also contract and spread it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
