While parents await the outcome of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for kids under 5 years old, others may be struggling to catch up with standard vaccinations for their young children. Especially for children born during the pandemic, lockdowns and missed doctor’s appointments may have delayed immunizations for diseases like measles, whooping cough and polio.
Pre-pandemic, these vaccination rates were high, with most in the 80 percent range. However, at the beginning of the pandemic, the rates for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine dropped from 72 percent in March 2017 to March 2020 to as low as 62 percent by June to August 2020, according to a study published in Pediatrics. A study of European countries found that 22 percent of infants had their vaccination regimens interrupted during the spring of 2020.
As might be expected, lockdowns early in the pandemic kept people away from their regular appointments, and with most children taking part in remote learning for much of 2020 and part of 2021, there was less of a reason to get vaccinated.
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