Pediatricians in Mississippi are encouraging parents to bring their children in for checkups and vaccinations. Kindergarteners in Mississippi are required to be vaccinated prior to public school registration. Dr. Anita Henderson is President of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She says the missed vaccinations are for preventable diseases like mumps, chickenpox, and whooping cough.
“We are missing vaccinations on our kids, but we are also missing other screenings. Developmental screenings, depression screenings, school screenings. So we really are trying to encourage families to think about whether they had a checkup for their child in the last year, and if not, go ahead and call and get an appointment with your pediatrician now.”
Dr. Henderson says now is the time for 7th graders to get their booster shots as well. She says that way, kids age 12 and older can be ready for a coronavirus vaccination when school starts in the fall if it's approved for use in adolescents.
“We also know that the coronavirus vaccine can not be given within two weeks of any other vaccination. We want to make sure that we get all our kids, all our adolescents in for their checkups now so that this fall, if the COVID-19 vaccine is approved for children, we will be able to get them in and get those vaccines.”
At the start of the pandemic parents were discouraged from having unnecessary doctor visits, but Dr. Henderson assures parents that it is safe to resume checkups and vaccinations.
