Virginia health officials, alarmed by the drop it is seeing in children getting vaccinated, are reminding parents that shots are required are to register kids for school, even virtual school.
“I think people feel like if you’re not going to the brick and mortar school, then you don’t need to have the immunizations, but that’s incorrect,” said Shauna Severo of the Fairfax County Health Department in.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it has a seen a marked drop in students getting vaccinations across the country.
Health officials say it is due to concerns parents have about contracting Covid19 in hospitals or clinics.
“What we don’t want is for kids to be kept from the ability to get an education because of the pandemic,” Loudoun County Health Director Dr. David Goodfriend said.
To combat the problem Fairfax County is putting on clinics where students are kept socially distant while being vaccinated and where booths are cleaned regularly. The visits are also appointment only, presumably to cut down on crowding and wait time
“I would just urge parents — I know they’re concerned about coming out and exposure to COVID — but it’s really important for them to understand that if they do not get these vaccines, they’re putting their children and other people in the community at risk for vaccine preventable diseases,” Severo said.