Green County Public Health and SSM Health Monroe Remind Parents That Now is the Time to Catch Kids Up on Vaccines and Well-Child Visits
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The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) recently announced that they were partnering with the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (WIAAP) to urge families to make sure their children are up to date on well-child visits and vaccinations. Green County Public Health and SSM Health Monroe are reiterating this message.
In 2020, there was a significant drop in clinic visits across the state. This resulted in delays in vaccinations, screenings, referrals, and general guidance to help keep families healthy. Falling behind on vaccinations leaves children vulnerable to preventable diseases like influenza, measles, and whooping cough. The decline in the number of office visits and routine vaccinations is alarming and could have long-ranging impacts on a child’s health and the health of our community.
Wellness visits for kids should be scheduled with the child’s doctor regularly from birth through age three, then yearly after that. Different vaccinations are given at different times throughout childhood. Parents and guardians can speak with the child’s doctor about when their child should receive different vaccinations. Vaccine schedule recommendations are also available on the CDC’s website in English (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs.pdf) and Spanish (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs-sp.pdf).
“If a child has missed a vaccination, it is not too late to get caught up,” says RoAnn Warden, Green County Public Health Officer/Director. “Childhood vaccines and wellness visits are extremely important for a kid’s overall health and well-being; when kids are healthy they are able to continue to do all the things they love – play sports, go to school, be with their friends.”
You can check your child’s vaccination status on the Wisconsin Immunization Registry at https://www.dhfswir.org/PR/clientSearch.do?language=en or by calling 608-266-9691.
Other resources for families include: Health care coverage available through BadgerCare Plus (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/badgercareplus/index.htm) and Wisconsin Medicaid (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/medicaid/index.htm). Free transportation to medical appointments, found here https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/nemt/index.htm. Food pantries and nonprofit organizations to assist with food and access to other services, information may be found here: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/nutrition/tefap/index.htm.
For more information, please visit the Green County Public Health website at https://www.greencountywi.org/192/Public-Health and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GreenCountyPublicHealth, and the SSM Health Monroe website at https://www.monroeclinic.org and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SSMHealthMonroe.
