Routine childhood vaccinations in Illinois dropped during the pandemic, worrying pediatricians
CHICAGO -- In Illinois, routine childhood vaccinations against diseases such as measles, polio and whooping cough slipped during the pandemic — a drop that comes amid the reemergence of polio on the East Coast, and one that pediatricians blame on missed appointments and increased vaccine hesitancy.
About 89% of Illinois kindergartners were reported as vaccinated against measles, mumps, polio, rubella, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis during the 2020-2021 school year, according to Illinois State Board of Education data obtained by the Tribune through Freedom of Information Act requests. That’s down from about 94% to 96% during each of the previous four school years.
In the 2020-2021 school year, vaccine data was submitted for 124,701 kindergartners in Illinois, meaning if 89% were vaccinated, it’s possible that nearly 14,000 were not.
“It’s really concerning,” said Dr. Kathy Shepherd, a pediatrician at Kids First Pediatric Partners in Skokie. “We’ve all seen, as pediatricians, kids who’ve been affected by vaccine preventable diseases. Sometimes, I think people get a false sense of
