A call to ‘arms’
Why vaccinating children is more important than ever
A patient with a high fever and forced breathing shakes uncomfortably in bed, chest rising and falling at irregular intervals. Saliva and mucus pool in the back of the throat, exacerbating labored breaths. To many practitioners treating both adults and children over the past 16 months, this description brings back all-too-familiar memories of distressed patients seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, in the late 19th and early 20th century, this was also a common scene, albeit with a different cause: diphtheria, a bacteria that infects the back of the throat causing fevers, difficulty breathing and swallowing, and swollen lymph nodes, among other symptoms. Sound familiar?
While COVID-19 is a more recent and immediate threat to our society, diphtheria was once even more dangerous for children during the height of its own not-too-distant pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 100,000 to 200,000 cases of diphtheria were reported annually during the 1920s, with 13,000 to 15,000 deaths per year. Now, diphtheria has largely been eradicated throughout the United States. Between 1996 and 2018, only 14 cases of diphtheria were reported in the U.S. Throughout my near decade of training as a physician, I have never seen a case of diphtheria in a child. Obviously, modern medicine has made significant leaps and bounds since that time.
The greatest advancement since the 1920s that has caused such a large drop in the number of cases? The introduction of vaccines.
Along with diphtheria, vaccination has helped to reduce the rate of or eradicate several illnesses that used to routinely affect children at a time when their prospects of living into adulthood were not always guaranteed. Polio, measles, rubella, chickenpox — routine vaccination has made these illnesses more of a fascination than a normal part of everyday life. Now we face a novel pandemic. Against this ever-changing foe, vaccination against COVID-19 has an opportunity to force a similar outcome for our future population.
In July, the CDC released new guidelines for sending children back to school that emphasize the benefits of in-person learning given the isolation they experienced throughout the last year of remote learning. Such isolation, and the resulting anxiety, depression and lack of motivation, has been detrimental to child health. According to the CDC, doctor visits regarding mental health concerns for kids between 12 and 17 increased about 31% in 2020 compared with 2019. We also know many children and adolescents rely on school-based mental health services, even more necessary during this major life disruption.
The guidelines discuss the importance of modified social distancing and continued masking for unvaccinated children (especially children under the age of 12, who are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination at this time). But the most effective method of preventing the dangerous symptoms and complications of COVID-19 infection, however, remains vaccination. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and while cases of breakthrough infection in vaccinated individuals are being reported, vaccination has been proven to reduce the rate of severe illness and hospitalization.
COVID-19 is less likely to result in death in children than in adults; however, children infected with the coronavirus still run the risk of transmitting the virus, being hospitalized or dying. Vaccinating children over the age of 12 helps protect vulnerable members of their families as well as their teachers and other school staff; it also helps protect their siblings and classmates younger than 12. Vaccine trials for younger children are ongoing, and I am hopeful that we will soon have a COVID-19 vaccine for all children.
In addition to COVID-19 vaccines, parents should also be mindful of taking their children to be seen by a pediatrician for routine care, including their regular childhood vaccines, which play an important part in making sure diseases like diphtheria stay dormant. By getting more children vaccinated, we are able not only to protect students, teachers and family members, but we’re also able to help our children get back to a safe, normal life.