Record Numbers of Kids Aren’t Vaccinated — What This Expert Says to Hesitant Parents

More parents decided to exempt their kindergartners from school vaccination requirements this year than ever before, U.S. officials said Thursday. And the overall vaccination rate for schoolchildren has remained at a lower rate in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Since 2021, vaccination rates for school-aged children have hovered around 93%, down from the 95% before COVID. Rates vary from state to state and there are a variety of reasons for lower vaccination update, including health care disruptions and disparities made worse by the pandemic, as well as the public’s attitude towards vaccines. 

According to the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey, in October of 2019, 82% of U.S. adults supported vaccine requirements in school-aged children; that figure is now at 71%.

Vaccine hesitancy has resulted in measles outbreaks and even the re-emergence of the polio virus, which was thought to be eradicated in the United States.

Sharon Nachman, M.D., Chief of Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook University, tells the Messenger she encounters parents with vaccine hesitancy “all the time.”

“Parents always want to do the best thing for their children,” Dr. Nachman says. “So when I see patients who are vaccine hesitant, I tell them, ‘Okay, tell me which vaccines you don't want and why you don't want it.’ ”

This gives parents the time to ask questions, she says, and air out their fears.

“I think it's important to talk to your provider about the differences in these vaccines,” she says. When people are against every vaccine, they need to understand that not all of the vaccines are the same. It's like saying, ‘I'm against all fruit.’ Maybe you don’t like apples or oranges or bananas, but they come in many different shapes and sizes, and vaccines are the same way.”

She says it’s important to understand your particular immune system, your medications and your individual health concerns. “Saying no to 100% of vaccines does harm to you because there are things you need to protect yourself, and saying no to everything puts you in a bad position,” she says.

When it comes to children, if parents don’t want their children to get a live vaccine, like the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, she explains it only rarely causes illness in people who are severely immunocompromised. 

“Those patients who are sure that MMR causes autism, I'm not going to convince them it does or it doesn't,” she says, although that theory has been widely debunked. Instead of arguing that point, Dr. Nachman will stress the importance of the pneumococcal vaccine. 

“Because the last thing I want you or your child to get is pneumonia or meningitis and die. So it's not a live vaccine, it contains just a piece of bacteria, and it saves lives every day.”

Dr. Nachman will explain to parents that the bacteria in these vaccines can’t replicate, but it will allow the immune system to recognize the bacteria and prepare its response.

She also stresses the importance of a tetanus vaccine. “Because if I don't give your kid a tetanus vaccine, they can't play on the playground. They can't play baseball or do anything, because tetanus is a spore in dirt. Every time they touch dirt, they're at risk.”

She says she usually has a lot of success helping parents to understand the pros and cons of vaccines, and how some of them are essential.

“You can’t be judgemental,” Dr. Nachman says. “You have to listen to parents.”