‘Make appointments’

hundreds of kids wouldn’t be able to go to school.”

Lee and Sakarcan said summer is typically a busy time for children’s wellness checks, which include administering immunizations and boosters. But 2020 has not been a typical year.

“This is a very unusual time,” Sakarcan said.

This summer has been slow, the doctors said, with families hesitant to schedule or keep appointments. Lately, though, that has been changing.

Lee said that as time progresses more and more is learned about COVID-19. It appears, he said, to not have as severe an impact on children as it does adults.

That has led to increased comfort for parents, and a recent uptick in kids coming in for their wellness checks.

“What we did at the height of the pandemic is we bumped kids scheduled for health checks and immunizations,” Lee said. “Now that we’re more comfortable, those we bumped we’re bringing back in.”

Because of the recent increase, medical experts are urging parents not to wait to schedule appointments for their children.

Dawn Schwenk, a school nurse in the Brandywine Heights School District, said it’s important for parents to know that, even though the requirements have been suspended, they still need to eventually comply. That means acting now.

“We’re encouraging parents to make appointments,” she said, adding that she’s heard from some parents that booking slots at now busy medical offices is becoming difficult. “Parents should be scheduling appointments now and not waiting until October to schedule them.”

Danger in delay

Just because the requirements have been delayed doesn’t mean immunizations aren’t important, medical experts said.

“It is essential that everyone, especially children, are up to date on all recommended immunizations,” state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our state, we want to emphasize that vaccines are a safe and effective way to protect yourself from a number of serious, life-threatening diseases. Getting your vaccinations can help protect those around you, such as those with compromised immune systems who cannot get vaccinated.”

Sakarcan said the immunizations students have to get are the reason diseases like measles, chicken pox and polio aren’t the overwhelming threats they once were.

“We used to have these diseases, these horrendous diseases,” he said. “Now we don’t see them. We can’t wipe them out, they’re not wiped out, but we don’t see the outbreaks.

“If those vaccinations are not administered timely, we will have those diseases surfacing again.”

An outbreak of one of those diseases, or a major flu outbreak, would be a nightmare in the midst of an existing pandemic, Lee added.

“What we want to do right now is make sure we vaccinate against preventable illnesses,” he said. “Imagine measles and mumps outbreaks at the same time we’re dealing with COVID.

“We want to make sure we’re not dealing with multiple COVID-level outbreaks at the same time.”

Risks of multiple outbreaks

Schwenk said an outbreak of another infectious disease would not just tax the medical system, but could be devastating for families.

“I wouldn’t just be a nightmare for us, but for that child,” she said.

Schwenk said there’s concern that another illness, while dangerous in its own

right, could possibly make a child more susceptible to COVID-19.

“It could make a child more at risk,” she said. “The body isn’t going to be able to fight it off.”

That concern is why Schwenk is planning to push hard for families to take part in Brandywine Heights’ annual flu clinic. If schools are in session, she said, flu shots will be given

out in October.

Getting as many kids vaccinated against the flu is critical, she said, because of the disease’s ability to spread.

“Once it hits, you can really see it run rapidly through the school,” she said.

Dealing with that on top of the existing pandemic would be nearly impossible, she said.