ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Data from the Florida Department of Health shows vaccinations dropped 15% in March and 40% in April. That was during the statewide stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus. Some doctors said they are concerned about catching up on the missed appointments and vaccinations.
"We did such a good job encouraging people to stay home, and now we need to do just as good of a job to help them get back into their doctors offices," said Dr. Jenna Wheeler.
Wheeler is a Pediatric Critical Care Physician at Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando and said doctors’ offices are under strict Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols to keep their spaces clean and their patients safe from the virus.
"The recommendations that their pediatric offices are following include social distancing, having sick kids coming at certain times of the day and well kids coming at a different time to separate them. Having families wait outside and coming in at their appointment times," said Wheeler.
With many kids heading back to school in the fall, pediatricians are urging parents to schedule their well visits and immunizations. Click here for a list of required vaccinations by grade.
"With Measles, something a lot of people talk about when it comes to vaccines, we know as the number of people vaccinated falls, there's a higher risk for an outbreak in the community. If we're talking about going back to school and all the safety measures in place, we really want to make sure that our kids are safe, not just from COVID-19 but from all the illnesses out there and are preventable," said Wheeler.
Wheeler said parents should call their kids' primary care doctors or pediatricians and talk about any concerns they may have about showing up for an appointment.
Two weeks ago, Dr. Raul Pino with Florida Department of Health-- Orange County made a push to vaccinate students, specifically those going into middle school.
"We have vaccinated already over 1,000 kids in the last three weeks and we want to prevent any outbreaks within an outbreak, so we will be insisting on flu vaccinations for this fall," said Pino.
The Florida Department of Health in Orange County is offering free back to school immunizations for kids age 4 to 18. The event begins July 20 and goes through Aug. 8, but you must make an appointment first by calling 407-723-5004.
What to know before you go:
- For ages 4 years to 18 years of age only
- Bring student’s current shot record
- Bring child’s birth certificate, passport, or other government issued ID
- One parent or guardian per child
- Parent or Guardian must bring a valid ID
- For 680 forms child must be present
- No College vaccines
- No Religious Exemptions