LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — LAS VEGAS — Only 67% of two-year-olds born between 2021 and 2022 in Nevada received all the shots recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to a March 26 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report also found only 41% of toddlers born during that period received all their flu shots.
“There are so many different reasons that people don’t get vaccinated that there isn’t a simple answer. We kind of have to work with all of those to try and improve our rates here in the state,” said Brian Labus, an infectious disease epidemiologist and associate professor at UNLV’s School of Public Health.
Barriers to vaccination
Labus is a founder of NVax, a coalition of health care experts dedicated to dispelling myths surrounding vaccines.
“We want to keep vaccine-preventable diseases from reoccurring here in Nevada,” Labus said.
Dr. Ben Wong, a pediatrician at Sunrise Children’s Hospital, identified several factors contributing to the state’s low vaccination rates.
“I think part of it is access to care. Here in Southern Nevada, we have limited numbers of pediatricians, sometimes harder to get in. Some families don’t actually recognize what resources are available here in town,” Wong said.
Social media also plays a role in shaping parental decisions about vaccines, Wong said.
Vaccine resources for parents
Required vaccinations
The Clark County School District requires students to complete several vaccination series before attending classes, including chickenpox, hepatitis A and B, and polio.
“Part of the vaccine schedules, they’re based off of when we think your child will be most commonly exposed to certain vaccines and when their body is building up their immune system,” Wong said.
Labus said the recommended schedule represents a package designed to best protect children from disease.
Community immunity concerns
The protection extends beyond individual families to the broader community.
“For a community to be safe from certain diseases and for certain vaccination rates, need to be above about 95% for there to be what we call herd immunity. And here in Las Vegas, some of the school districts are reporting about 90-91% for some of the vaccines,” Wong said.
When fewer children get vaccinated, more diseases return. Health officials declared measles eliminated in 2000, thanks in part to widespread childhood vaccinations. Health officials now blame its comeback on falling vaccination rates.
“Immunization is something that’s become a victim of its own success. We’ve done such a great job of preventing these diseases that used to be common not that long ago, that people are more afraid of the vaccines now than they are the diseases,” Labus said.
Both experts said parents should consult their pediatrician for advice on childhood vaccines.
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