MILWAUKEE — Kids are getting back into the swing of the school season but a concerning number of kids are not up to date on their vaccination requirements, according to data obtained from the Wisconsin Department of Health.
At Riverwest Elementary, roughly seven out of every 10 students meet the minimum vaccination requirements put in place by the state. That’s below Milwaukee Public Schools’ (MPS) average compliance rate of 85.6 percent. The state’s minimum requirements include multiple immunizations for polio, measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) among other recommendations.
Riverwest Elementary is one of 42 schools in Milwaukee County where 70 percent or less of its student population meets those minimum requirements. Compare that to the 2018-2019 school year, when only 14 schools in Milwaukee County were at or below 70 percent compliance.
“Unfortunately, we’re starting to see an uptick,” Dr. Kristin Bencik, Pediatrician at Children’s Wisconsin said. “Unfortunately, some parents are choosing not to vaccinate.”
Bencik encourages all parents she meets to have their kids vaccinated. She says vaccines are highly proven to be safe and effective at protecting children from harmful diseases. Even ones that are perceived as being eliminated from general society.
“Vaccines work probably so well, that’s why people have a luxury saying they don’t need to do it,” Bencik said. “Or we don’t see those anymore. But it’s going to come back if we don’t keep vaccinating. We know that vaccines are incredibly safe. We know these diseases they protect against are really bad for kids.”
While Bencik would hope for all schools to be at 100 percent compliance, she says they should aim to be in the high 90 percent range. In the 2018-2019 school year, in Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington, and Waukesha Counties, 556 schools had 90 percent compliance or higher. Last year, that dropped to 356 schools, a 36 percent decrease.
Bencik attributes that dip to the isolation induced by COVID-19.
“We had about a year, year and a half where we really weren’t vaccinating our kids the way we used to,” Bencik said. “We’re still trying to catch up from that.”
Bencik says, if you have questions or concerns about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, to contact your child’s physician. Otherwise, there is more information on the Children’s Wisconsin website.
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