During the COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska saw a significant drop in the percentage of children who were up to date on their routine vaccinations — a dip that has been slow to return to normal levels, state health officials said in a report published this week.
By June of last year, just 55% of young children in Alaska between 19 and 35 months old had received all of their recommended shots. That’s a few percentage points above an all-time low of 51% in December 2021, but still well below a pre-pandemic high of 65% in 2019.
The decline appears to be the result of many factors, including fewer doctor visits, health care staffing shortages and an increase in vaccine hesitancy and misinformation during the pandemic, health officials said.
Routine childhood immunizations for diseases such as hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus, polio and the flu are a vitally important way of priming a child’s immune system to protect them against potentially deadly illnesses from an early age. When uptake is high enough, vaccines help eradicate diseases.
“The No. 1 risk of death for an infant in this country and around the world is infectious diseases,” said Dr. Monique Child, an Anchorage-based pediatrician. “So if you want to protect that baby in your arms, the best way you can do it is by protecting them from infectious diseases, which includes vaccinating.”
Child said this week that she wasn’t surprised by the new report: Anti-vaccine sentiment has been present in Alaska and far beyond since long before the pandemic, she noted, and in recent years in particular she’s observed an “eroding of trust in the health care system” that has in some cases complicated her relationships with the parents and families she sees.
The “persistently low” coverage rates noted in the report have been concerning to doctors and state health officials alike because they raise the risk of outbreaks of certain serious, vaccine-preventable illnesses that had been all but eradicated in the U.S. until recently, like polio.
The initial dip in vaccination rates reflects national trends, but Alaska’s sluggish return to pre-pandemic rates appears to be unusual, the report said.
“While childhood vaccination coverage rates improved quickly in the US overall, in Alaska, coverage rates have remained considerably lower than pre-pandemic levels,” the health department noted.
Sarah Aho, immunization program manager with the Alaska Department of Health, said that Alaska’s remote geography could be contributing to barriers to access to routine medical care.
“It also comes down to education, and understanding just what your child is due for,” she said.
In the recommendation section, the report encourages communities to help families “overcome vaccination barriers” by offering resources about the importance of preventive care visits and where they can go to access immunizations, and hosting free vaccine clinics at schools and clinics.
Child, who said she’s had many difficult conversations with parents who are hesitant or distrustful, believes that having established care with physicians who patients have come to trust can be one of the best ways to overcome vaccine hesitancy.
“I’ve had established patients that have been on the fence about the COVID vaccine, but are vaccinated for everything else. And I’ve literally asked, ‘You’ve trusted my medical information for all the other medication. Why not this one?’ And I’ve seen a young mom actually say, ‘You’re right. Let’s do it.’ ”
For a list of public health centers around Alaska that offer free vaccines and other health care without insurance, visit the state’s public health nursing webpage.