A new report from the Centers for Disease Control is raising alarms over another potential hazard in America’s response to COVID-19: Many children aren’t getting their necessary immunizations.

The CDC is urging parents, as pediatricians offices are able to accommodate more well-child visits, to return to getting the recommended protocol of childhood vaccinations.

The disruptions in routine and preventative care were expected, the researchers say, but parents need to collaborate with their pediatricians in making safe arrangements to get vaccinations.

“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder of the importance of vaccination,” the report said. The decline in childhood vaccinations since mid-March “might indicate that U.S. children and their communities face increased risks for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.”

The report urged communities to remind parents that “the vital need to protect their children against serious vaccine-preventable diseases, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, is critical.”

The risk to children lacking vaccinations will grow in the months ahead.

“As social distancing requirements are relaxed, children who are not protected by vaccines will be more vulnerable to diseases such as measles,” the report said. “Continued coordinated efforts between health care providers and public health officials at the local, state, and federal levels will be necessary to achieve rapid catch-up vaccination.”

Citation: Santoli JM, Lindley MC, DeSilva MB, et al. Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Routine Pediatric Vaccine Ordering and Administration — United States, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:591–593. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6919e2external icon.