Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department announcement.
The pandemic likely upended your family’s life in many ways—including some you might not have noticed.
Washington State Department of Health announced many children in Washington are behind on their regular vaccinations.
This may have happened because you stayed home during the pandemic and your kids missed a regular trip to the doctor. Or, a healthcare provider may have had few opportunities to provide vaccinations.
No matter the reason, we must raise childhood immunization rates again.
Vaccines protect your kids.
Vaccines stop preventable diseases like mumps, measles and whooping cough. And they allow kids to safely do the things they love, like go to school and have fun at summer camp.
Washington State Department of Health (DOH) compared recent routine childhood immunization rates to pre-pandemic levels. The report found drops in many age groups from June 2019 to December 2021. They declined:
- 9.6% in kids 19-35 months old.
- 3.9% in kids 4-6 years.
- 3.6% in kids 11-12 years.
What we’re doing to help.
We’re here to help! We support vaccination and help teach people why they’re so important.
In the coming months, we will:
- Support clinics and make sure you can easily find vaccines at them.
- Learn from healthcare providers and pharmacies about the drop in our rates.
- Work with school partners to host back-to-school clinics.
- Help schools provide vaccine info to students.
- Work on a new program to help Department of Children, Youth and Families and DOH fix issues reporting and recording vaccine data.
Together, we can raise Pierce County’s rates. If you need additional support or guidance or are interested in offering direct services, contact a member of our team:
- Elle Cooper: bcooper@tpchd.org, (253) 999-0966.
- Brittany Jolivette: bjolivette@tpchd.org, (253) 732-5037.
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