Pediatricians are unique in their focus on child behavior and development and especially on preventative care. We at Joshi Pediatrics do not take this charge lightly. I have had many conversations over the years with parents regarding vaccines. I believe firmly that all parents wish to do the best for their children and protect them from harm. This pandemic has shined the brightest light possible on the importance of vaccination. The extreme measures that we are having to live through at the moment show us what a world without vaccines looks like. Having to stay away from the people we love to keep them safe, is not a permanent solution. We are human beings we are social creatures that need one another to survive. In the short term this strategy is critical but it cannot continue forever. The only way we get back to normal is to develop a vaccine to provide us with lasting immunity and protect us and those we love. We can develop a vaccine to COVID-19 but it won’t be fast, cheap or easy.
It is also critical at this time to remember that we need to keep our kids vaccinated for the diseases we can prevent. It is more important now than ever that we prevent disease whenever we can. The World Health Organization has said that the “Disruption of immunization services, even for brief periods, will result in increased numbers of susceptible individuals and raise the likelihood of outbreak-prone vaccine preventable diseases such as measles.” We absolutely cannot afford this kind of a preventable crisis. Don’t forget that exactly one year ago (2019) the CDC was reporting the largest number of measles since the year 2000. This increase was due to people not getting vaccinated.
We have taken extraordinary measures to keep patients safe in our office at this time. We feel absolutely confident in following the recommendations that the CDC has put in place. We know that we can keep people healthy by keeping them vaccinated against disease. If you have an appointment for your child’s routine vaccines rest assured that you should keep it. If you are still questioning the importance and power of vaccines to keep you safe just look around at all the masked faces.
Anita Joshi is a board certified pediatrician and mother of two has been practicing in Crawfordsville since 1998. Kelly White is a nurse practitioner. Crawfordsville Pediatric Center is located at 1901 Lafayette Ave. Suite 100, Crawfordsville. She can be reached at 765-361-3086.
