Vaccination rates drop throughout Central Coast during COVID-19 pandemic
| SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Vaccination rates across California have declined significantly since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. This is includes San Luis Obispo County. "Year over year vaccine dose ratio are showing 50 to 60 percent of what we did last year in the number of immunizations we delivered to children. That’s for the months of March and April," said Dr. Penny Borenstein with the San Luis Obispo Public Health Center. Doctors with the Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria are also seeing less patients coming in for routine vaccinations. “We’ve asked a lot of patients to stay home if they can safely postpone certain types of medical procedures or other the services, and vaccines has sometimes fallen into that category,” said Dr. Scott Robertson with the Marian Regional Medical Center. But that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t get them. Borenstein is reminding parents of the importance of immunizations. "We certainly don’t want to see outbreaks of whooping cough or measles or chickenpox or any of the routine childhood immunizations in the middle of a pandemic. So this is a time to get back on the horn with your doctor and try to get into catch up on those immunizations," said Borentstein. Robertson says the message is most important for young children. “Children under the age of two. It’s very important for that group to stay on their schedules so that they receive their adequate vaccinations,” said Robertson. Robertson says it’s important for patients to understand that doctor offices are safe places to receive medical care. "All the offices across the central coast have implemented various types of protocols to ensure the safety of their patients, the safety of the families in visiting those offices as well as the safety of their staff,” said Robertson. |
