‘Anti-vaccine sentiment’ results in less coverage for Indiana toddlers
(MIRROR INDY) — Doctors are sounding the alarm after more than 40% of Indiana’s toddlers did not get their recommended vaccines last year.
“Anti-vaccine sentiment is growing,” said Dr. Shannon Dillon, a pediatrician at Riley Children’s Health.
The decline in vaccinations for Indiana’s toddlers — from 70% coverage in 2020 to only 58% in the first three months of this year — reflects the toll of mistrust and disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dillon said.
In Marion County, a little more than half of toddlers received their recommended vaccines at the start of 2024.
“More parents have concerns about childhood vaccines,” Dillon said, “even though many have been around for more than 50 years and data shows they’re safe and effective.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend children receive a series of shots after they’re born to protect against diseases such as measles, diphtheria and hepatitis. School-aged children continue the schedule, with checkpoints in kindergarten and sixth grade. A study led by the World Health Organization found that vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives in the last half-century.
Indiana is one of many states that allows parents to opt their children out of vaccine requirements for religious or medical reasons. Those exemptions have been used more than 13,000 times in elementary schools since 2019, according to state data.
Doctors and public health officials are concerned about new outbreaks.
“Whenever you get a bigger population of kids who are unvaccinated, all it takes is one person who gets the virus,” Dillon said. “It spreads much more easily.”
Thomas Duszynski, an epidemiologist at the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IU Indianapolis, said one goal of vaccines is to achieve herd immunity. He pointed to the eradication of smallpox, which the CDC says on average killed three of every 10 people who contracted it, as a success story.
“We got it eradicated and there are other diseases we can potentially do that with,” Duszynski said. “If we all participate, we can reduce the number of vaccines we have to give.”
Even if a child has missed the recommended window for a shot, they can still get a catch-up dose from their primary care doctor or a pharmacy. The Indiana Department of Health also has a map of vaccine clinics happening this fall at schools, churches and community events across the state.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.