INDIANAPOLIS — As students head back to school, doctors are concerned that fewer kids are getting their routine vaccinations.
The latest numbers show 56.4% of Hoosier children 19-35 months old have received all of the recommended immunizations. That's down from 58% in 2022 and 61% in 2021, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
As of the 2023-24 school year, 78.5% of kindergarteners had gotten their school-required vaccinations, but the number dropped to 72.4% for 12th graders.
"That's a huge concern," said Dr. Eric Yancy, a pediatrician from Indianapolis who's been practicing for more than three decades. "That could bode very poorly for 10 or 12 years down the road or even sooner for some of these diseases we thought we had kept at bay … (if they were to start) coming back."
The immunizations prevent diseases including meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria, polio and measles.
Dr. Brian Dixon, a researcher at the Regenstrief Institute, said Indiana just recorded its first case of measles in five years.
"That's a signal that the individuals who are unvaccinated are at risk," Dixon said.
One of the world's most contagious diseases, measles cases nationwide were already nearly double the total for all of last year by April.
Medical experts say they believe the drop in immunizations represents a lack of trust stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"So many people said 'I don't want to be forced to get it (the COVID vaccine) it's got this or that.' Unfortunately, some of that hesitancy then bled over into the regular routine vaccines we've been giving for years," Yancy said. "Which is nothing short of tragic."
"I think what will happen if these trends continue is that we will see more and more kids get sick and hospitalized and die from these diseases," Dixon said. "These are not diseases that have become less deadly over time. They have simply been tamped out for the most part due to high vaccination rates. So as our vaccination rates fall further and further, we will see more and more of these cases among the unvaccinated."
So, along with a dose of medicine, Yancy is also giving his patients and their families the facts.
"I tell them 'I'm not trying to force anything on you, but here are the things we know can occur in unvaccinated children,'" Yancy said.
"The Indiana Department of Health consistently recommends vaccinations for children and adults as a safe and effective way to protect against preventable disease and avoid serious illness," a spokesperson for the Indiana State Department of Health said. "We will continue to provide education to the public, support the state's local health departments, and promote timely and complete vaccination schedules with all providers."