Doctors across the nation and here in New Mexico say they feel like parents are caught in the middle and our kids could end up being the ones to suffer.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — What happens when two trusted sources have polar opposite opinions on the same topic? A whole lot of confusion.
And now, doctors across the nation and here in New Mexico say they feel like parents are caught in the middle and our kids could end up being the ones to suffer.
It comes after the federal government rolled back several vaccine recommendations and then state health departments, including ours, said they don’t agree.
“I worry that our system is going to be overwhelmed and our kids will suffer,” Dr. Alex Cvijanovich said.
Dr. Cvijanovich is a local pediatrician in Albuquerque. She said she was appalled when she learned the federal government walked back seven vaccine recommendations for most kids.
Those vaccines include influenza (flu), RSV, COVID-19, rotavirus, Hepatitis A and B and meningitis.
Americans can still get them but now, there’s confusion. Parents don’t know what information to trust.
“I’ve had parents who’ve said, you know, we were always for vaccines, but now we’re hearing that there are possible safety issues, safety concerns with vaccines that we’d never heard about or that we thought had been disproven, but now they’re being talked about again,” Cvijanovich said.
Officials with our New Mexico Department of Health said they’re still recommending the original vaccination schedule. But Cvijanovich said her families are still uncertain.
“They see these polarized sides. You know, there are the people like me, pediatricians who very much support vaccines and believe in vaccine safety and efficacy. And then there are people in our government who are talking about the dangers of vaccines, and so they’re sort of left in the middle trying to know what to do,” she said.
This uncertainty also comes as flu cases continue to rise nationwide and in New Mexico.
“90% or so of my patients ER visits were influenza A positive visits, and some babies had to go multiple times to the ER because they were getting sicker,” Cvijanovich said.
Cvijanovich worries this vaccine confusion could make a bad flu season worse.
“It’s frightening for me, because I do worry that we are going to start seeing more vaccine preventable diseases than we already are. And we know that all our health care system is already under tremendous strain, especially here in New Mexico, where we’re an underserved state,” she said.
Cvijanovich recommends you talk to your child’s doctor to find out which vaccines your child should or shouldn’t get.
NMDOH also has resources available if you’d like to find out more about a particular vaccine.
