Childhood immunizations taking steady hit across Oregon

Gold Meadows and KVAL.com Staff
KCBY.com

EUGENE, Ore. — In Oregon, most parents immunize their school aged children to meet school requirements according to data from the Centers for Disease Control, but the Oregon Health Authority says those immunization rates have taken a big hit since 2020.

But that decline began even earlier at a slower pace before the pandemic.

"The number of kids in kindergarten, which is where we measure this, who are claiming exemptions to one or more of the vaccine requirements has gone steadily up since about the year 2000," said Dr. Paul Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases immunizations, OHA. "We had our highest level ever in the most recent school year which is 23-24. Up to 8.8 percent of kindergarteners choosing an exemption to one or more of the required vaccines."

Fourteen different vaccines built to fight diseases like hepatitis A & B, pertussis, measles, and mumps are recommended for children, and several should be received by the time a child is 24 months old -- like poliovirus.

"Some of those diseases really are still out there. We had our biggest pertussis year, that's whooping cough, since 1950. Last year, we had our biggest measles outbreak since the early 1990's more than 30 years, and it occurred exclusively among unvaccinated people; we had 31 cases," said Dr. Cieslak.

If a person's immune system isn't working properly, Dr. Cieslak says, they may not have a good response to a vaccine because many are live weakened strains of an actual virus.

He cites vaccine fatigue along with some getting medical advice over the internet as part of what fuels fears around vaccines.

But psychological factors could also be at play.

"We think about the likelihood that a vaccine might work or the likelihood that a child might have a side effect from a vaccine, but we also feel our way through these situations. And our emotional responses to vaccines actually can make a big difference," said Ellen Peters, director of Center for Science Communication Research, University of Oregon. "When you hear a story about some side effect that happens to a child - whether it's a true story or not a true story, just simply reading about those stories can actually make people more fearful about vaccinations."

Meg Olson, director of Oregon Families for Vaccines, a statewide parent-led initiative supporting childhood vaccinations, says her son was six- weeks-old when a measles outbreak happened in 2019.

As a first time mom, she worried over his health because he was too young to have a measles vaccine.

"I think there's a lot of misinformation out there about what some of the impact might be or some faulty studies, but we all want to do what's best for our kids, and it can be really confusing to wade through that misinformation. We do know vaccines are safe and effective," said Olson.

As a new administration sets up shop in the White House, Olson says OFV is unsure what that will mean for accessibility to vaccines.

"Our immediate concern is about some of our federal programs that allow for families to access vaccines. Some of these programs could face severe threats. Some of them could go away entirely," she said.

Parents of children in Oregon can claim an exemption from school immunizations for medical or non-medical reasons.

OHA says school exclusion day is on February 19, that's the third week in February of each year where students without the required vaccinations for school or that exemption are excluded from school.