Healthy, Wealthy
& Wise
Pediatricians Push for Routine Vaccinations
shots in June 2021, compared
to about 60,000 in June 2019,
IN APRIL 2020, routine according to the report.

However, some
area vaccinations among children
dropped to below 40,000, with Jewish pediatricians still have
total routine vaccinations in concerns. Th ey believe there’s
the city dropping more than work to do to get those numbers
60% at the pandemic’s incep- back to what they were before
tion, according to a September the pandemic, and questions
report from the Philadelphia remain about how growing
Department of Public Health. vaccine skepticism due to
“It’s really impossible to COVID vaccine misinforma-
overstate how important tion has impacted attitudes
getting and maintaining, toward routine vaccines.

Dr. Paul Offi t, director
staying on schedule for routine
vaccines is for children,” PDPH of the Children’s Hospital
A 2021 COVID vaccine clinic at
Communications Director of Philadelphia’s Vaccine Waterview
Recreation Center held
Education Center, estimates by the Philadelphia Department of
James Garrow said.

Despite COVID’s toll on that about 15% of parents he Public Health
Courtesy of Philadelphia Department
pediatric routine vaccination encounters have some form of
of Public Health
rates, the tides are starting hesitancy about getting their
to turn: Immunizations children vaccinated. He’s able
uptake in children over 5.

have risen back to near their to sway about 85% of them.

However, Offi t is worried Since
Pfizer-BioNTech’s pre-COVID rates, with about
50,000 children getting their about the low COVID vaccine use for children 5-11 was
approved by the Food and
Drug Administration on Nov.

3, only 30% of parents nation-
wide have taken their children
to be vaccinated, Offi t said.

A large part of the under-
vaccination of children is
due to growing partisanship
around vaccination, he said.

“Twenty years ago, the
anti-vaccine movement did not
have a political cast to it,” Offi t
said. David J Novick, CFP ® , ChFC ® , CLU ® , MBA
Parents also report not
Director of Financial Planning
wanting to have their child
235 North Sycamore Street
receive the COVID vaccine
Newtown, PA 18940
due to the speed at which the
vaccine was produced, which
made it seem untrustworthy,
Phone: (215) 860-2225 ext.29
Center City Pediatrics Dr.

Mobile: (610) 608-0069
Craig Barkan said.

Fax: (215) 860-0255
“I generally try to explain to
them that there’s an incredible
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
20 JANUARY 27, 2022
JEWISH EXPONENT
Dr. Paul Offi t
Courtesy of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
amount of research that has
demonstrated safety,” he said.

“Th e process that went into
making this vaccine has been
as thorough as any other
vaccine. It’s just been done in a
more timely way.”
Reasons for not giving
children routine vaccinations
diff er from skepticism toward
the COVID vaccine.

“Th ere are some parents who
argue the now-completely and
utterly defunct fear of autism,”
Barkan said. “And people
sometimes are just afraid that
there is responsibility for a
child, and they’re afraid that
they’re going to make a bad
decision.” Offi t added that a lack of
education about vaccines also
adds to skepticism.

“Th ere’s always a hesitancy
to inject the child with a
biological agent because
everyone considers a child
to be more vulnerable, even
though they’re not,” Offi t said.

“Or they view not-vaccinating
as the safer, less risky thing to
do, which is not true.”
For parents with infl exible,
negative beliefs about vaccines,
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM