CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The start of the school year is nearly here and it's time to get your child vaccinated, health officials advise.
However, the pandemic has led to a decline in vaccination rates among school-aged children. Public health officials stress this is why it's important to get children vaccinated early before the school year starts.
State-required vaccines among kindergarten students declined from 95% to about 94% in the most recent data available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A later report showed that number could have been as low as 93%. That one percentage point represents thousands of students nationwide.
There are a number of reasons why vaccination rates have declined. Some parents may be concerned about the safety of vaccines, while others may simply not have the time to take their child to the doctor. In Gaston County, health officials are working hard to meet anticipated benchmarks for the upcoming 2023-24 school year.
"We have been trying to get to this issue all summer," Lesley Sellers, a public health nurse with the Gaston County Health Department, said. "We have appointments wide open. We are trying to get people to come in now to avoid the rush in mid-to-late August and September."
While Kindergarten students have the most initial vaccine requirements, parents of older students are also being met with suggestions from health officials.
"We're trying to get into some orientations at some local high schools in Gaston County; to do their vaccines at the orientation night to make it a little more convenient," Sellers said. "We are going to offer some late evening clinics as it gets closer to school time probably right after school starts."
In Union County, the health department told WCNC Charlotte they anticipate being above the benchmarks for vaccinations of school-aged children.
"Union County, as a whole, typically is at or above the benchmarks," Ashley Burts, the Union County Public Health Lead Communicable Disease Nurse, said. " And so that's, you know, all the providers in Union County providing childhood vaccines."
Burts said they offer vaccine clinics, appointments, and other services to make vaccines as accessible to everyone.
"There is a federal program called Vaccines for Children so that all children can receive all the vaccines that they need to go to school," Burts said. "There's not any reason why anybody should not be able to receive the vaccines that they need."
Both health departments are encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated early before the school year starts. They have appointments open and available.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.