Northwest Iowa — Providers at area Sanford clinics are encouraging parents to continue with well-child visits and immunization schedules, particularly for children ages 2 and under, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Providers are telling us they’ve heard some hesitancy from parents about bringing their children in to the doctor right now. Brenda Vis is a Physician’s Assistant at Sanford’s Rock Rapids Clinic.
(as said:) “So it’s really important for the young children to stay on their well-child schedules and their vaccination schedules especially for kids under 2. You know what we see happening is I know patients are concerned about coming in but we want to assure them that the morning appointments are reserved just for well people and so our clinic has been thoroughly cleaned by morning and so it’s very safe for them to come in. If they don’t vaccinate their children, we could see a pandemic of other sorts again. Whooping cough still goes around every season every winter. We seemed to see an occasional case of whooping cough. Several years ago there was a measles outbreak in the twin city area. And so if we stopped vaccinating the kids or get them off schedule, we’re going to see a pandemic of one of those illnesses as well.”
Dr. Becker at Sanford Sheldon Medical Center says that these visits are critical for monitoring the growth and overall health of your child. Sanford Sheldon Clinics have taken a number of steps to ensure safety in the clinic, including employee temperature checks, screening all patients who enter for COVID-19 symptoms, increased cleaning and disinfecting, social distancing in waiting areas, and online check-in for appointments through MySanfordChart. Again, the clinic has restructured hours, to see children and other patients without respiratory symptoms in the morning, and those with respiratory symptoms in the afternoon. Becker says that currently, one adult may accompany a child to an appointment. He says that vaccines protect your child and the people around them, and that they are one of the most effective ways to protect people of all ages from dangerous diseases.
Vis tells us more about children’s health.
(as said:) “It’s important to watch them for any signs of you know, fevers, coughs, you know, we want them to be safe just as the adults are staying safe and keep them away from large groups and such so that they may remain well. You know what New York is seeing is a virus called Kawasaki and some of this is affecting the children out there that have had the COVID virus. What Kawasaki disease can do is can lead to heart disease later in life and such. Several children in the New York area have actually died from this Kawasaki virus. So it’s very important to watch for fevers and coughs in the children.”
For an appointment, call your local medical facility. Many of them also have aps like MySanfordChart on which you can schedule an appointment or even do a virtual appointment online.
