What we know about why some kids are missing routine vaccinations

Some children across the country have fallen behind on their routine immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, with vaccination rates dropping off by several percentage points in some provinces.

Pediatricians and other health officials say the decrease in routine immunizations is concerning as cases of polio — a vaccine-preventable disease — emerge in other parts of the world. 

"As we move forward through the pandemic, we really have to focus on children maintaining and getting these routine immunizations that otherwise before we sort of took for granted," said Dr. Sloane Freeman, a pediatrician at St. Michael's Hospital and an assistant professor in the University of Toronto's pediatrics department.

Some experts say there could be several reasons why someone isn't vaccinated, but don't think hesitancy is the main culprit. Those who spoke to CBC News suspect school closures during the pandemic, public health resources and staff reallocated and a greater focus on COVID-19 vaccines may be behind the dip.

"It's a good wake-up call that we need to be extra diligent and probably provide extra resources to catch this group of kids up because we know they were missed," said Julie Bettinger, a University of British Columbia pediatrics professor and vaccine safety scientist at the Vaccine Evaluation Center in B.C. 

Pediatricians across Canada said they've seen more unvaccinated kids than usual this time of year.

Just this week, Dr. Fatima Kakkar, an infectious diseases pediatrician and pediatrics professor at the University of Montreal, saw children who have never had a tetanus shot. She says it's "surprising to see how many" are without the protection.

"For the most part, it's younger children who missed their regular appointments during peak pandemic time and have just never caught up."

Recent data provided by government officials in Alberta and Saskatchewan show a drop in vaccination rates for many of the routine immunizations.

In Alberta, most vaccination coverage rates dropped when compared to 2020. Among them is the second dose of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine among seven-year-olds, with the provincial coverage going from 79.2 per cent to 75.8 per cent in 2021.

In Saskatchewan, data from June 2021 compared to data until this June shows that immunization coverage dropped among two-year-olds. While 76.4 per cent of two-year-olds were immunized against pertussis with four doses in June 2021, only 73.4 per cent were vaccinated against the disease by the end of this June.

Provincial immunization rates for pertussis among seven-year-olds also declined during the same timeframe in that province.

The decrease in vaccination coverage may not sound like a lot, but one pediatrician says the changes are striking.

"You're actually looking at hundreds of kids who are now behind or unimmunized. And that can make a huge difference in terms of seeing some of the diseases that we have vaccinations for and shouldn't be seeing," said Dr. Ayisha Kurji, a Saskatoon pediatrician and assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan.