May 28, 2020
Stay Home, Stay Healthy updates from Skagit County
Public Health reported one new laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. Daily updates and total case counts are available at http://www.skagitcounty.net/coronavirus. Case counts are updated at 4 p.m.
Importance of Childhood Vaccinations
Officials from Skagit County Public Health and the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) are concerned about a steep drop in childhood vaccination rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to DOH, 30 percent fewer children were vaccinated in March and 40 percent fewer in April compared to the average number during those months between 2015 and 2019.
It is easy to forget, but many dangerous childhood illness used to be very common. For example, before a vaccine was developed in 1963, nearly every child in the U.S. got measles at some point in their childhood and between 450 and 500 children died of the infection each year. Today, that number is far lower because the vaccine is 97 percent effective at preventing measles. However, in 2019 measles was at its highest level in 25 years, and we cannot afford another backslide due to COVID-19 and low vaccinations.
In a blog post for Skagit Health Connection, Skagit County Correctional Health Manager Amie Tidrington spoke to the importance of childhood immunizations. Amie spent nearly 18 years as the immunization clinic coordinator, overseeing vaccinations clinics for children and adults. “If we don’t we keep vaccination rates up, other diseases will use this as an opportunity to come back in our lives. We don’t have the capacity to deal with that, nor do we want our children to suffer through what are preventable diseases.” Many childhood diseases are extremely contagious and fewer children being vaccinated could lead to a spike in deadly childhood illness like measles, whooping cough and small pox. Getting your child vaccinated as soon as possible can protect them and the vulnerable in our community from these preventable illnesses.
Call you child’s healthcare provider today to schedule an appointment. Hospitals and clinics are taking extra measures to keep patients safe from COVID-19, and delaying vaccination could have deadly consequences for your family and our community.
Additional Resources
- Yesterday, Governor Inslee announced new guidelines for religious services. You can read the full guidelines here.
- On Friday, the Skagit County Board of Health will meet to vote on a resolution to apply for Phase 2 Variance. If you’re interested in tuning into the meeting, you can find the call in information here.
- Skagit Health Connection sat down with the Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County’s CEO John Sternlicht and Communications Manager Aaron Weinberg to talk about COVID-19, reopening and resources available for businesses. Read the new post here.
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