Following measles outbreaks and the deadliest flu season in decades for children, parents are urged to ensure kids are up to date on recommended vaccinations

With confusion, misinformation and disease rates at record highs, and vaccination rates near record lows, partners of Let’s Get Immunized New York (LGINY) are urging their patients and the general public to ensure New York kids and their families are protected from preventable diseases through vaccination.   August—which has been declared Immunization Awareness Month by Governor Kathy Hochul is the perfect time to check your immunization status. 

During the 2024-2025 flu season, 25 pediatric deaths were reported across New York State.  All but one of those deaths were children who were not vaccinated, five were too young to have been vaccinated.   Across the country, there were more than 265 pediatric flu deaths, a number not seen in decades.  Everyone aged 6 months and older is recommended to get an annual flu shot. 

“The flu took our healthy daughter Amanda, 21 years ago, when the flu vaccine was yet to be recommended for kids her age,” said Alissa Kanowitz of Scarsdale and founding member of Families Fighting Flu, a member of LGINY.  “It is heartbreaking that families are still unnecessarily losing children to this preventable disease, due to misinformation and scare tactics about the safety of vaccines.  I feel strongly that Amanda would be here today if she had been eligible for vaccination.  I share this with other parents, so they don’t experience the loss that our family has lived through.”

Cases of measles, once considered eradicated, have also hit record numbers across the U.S. including 8 cases in New York City and 7 in other parts of the state.  Cases have been reported in the neighboring states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. 

One dose of the MMR vaccination is recommended for children by two years of age.  New York’s average vaccination rate for this cohort is just over 81 percent; however, pockets of the state have far lower vaccination rates, leaving those communities susceptible to outbreaks. 

“Measles is one of those diseases that people haven’t seen the impact of in many years due to higher vaccination rates of the past,” said Heidi Bond, BSN, CPH, President, the New York State Association of County Health Officials. “Now, with vaccination rates dropping, cases of the disease are inevitably going to continue to rise, and parents must be aware of the public health risk measles poses-including pneumonia, encephalitis, and even death. It’s simply not worth the risk.  We strongly urge all to ensure they are fully vaccinated against measles.”

Another devastating vaccine preventable diseases-meningococcal disease or meningitis spreads rapidly via saliva and being in close quarters.  The disease comes on quickly and can be deadly in a matter of hours. 

“I knew nothing about meningitis until it changed my life forever” said Jamie Schanbaum, founder of the J.A.I.M.E Group and Brooklyn resident. “When I was a college student, I was unvaccinated, unaware that college students were at a high risk of catching the disease. I became fatally ill within 14 hours of my first symptom, and had a 20% chance of survival, and I am glad I made it - I was lucky!  Today, I educate others to prevent scenarios like mine, happening to others. No one should go through what I did, or worse. Now during back-to-school season, is the perfect time for parents to talk to your pediatrician about your child’s current vaccinations and make sure they’re up to date.  I wish I had that conversation before walking onto campus. Take the opportunity to prevent what’s preventable.”

There are multiple vaccines to prevent the most common strains of meningitis.  MenACWY vaccines are recommended for kids between age 11-12 with a booster at age 16.  In 2014, new vaccines became available to prevent the “B” strain of the disease.  However, the MenB vaccines have a ‘shared clinical decision making’ recommendation, meaning doctors and parents need to discuss the vaccine—which many aren’t aware of, leading to much lower vaccine rates for MenB.   Pentavalent vaccines—that offer protection from all 5 strains have come to market in the last few years and also received a shared clinical decision-making recommendation.  The CDC’s Advisory Panel on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was planning to do a complete review of the meningitis platform starting in June 2023, but that has yet to happen. 

New York children must be vaccinated according to the childhood vaccine schedule to be eligible to attend daycare, and preK-12^thgrade.  Children with a valid medical exemption provided by a licensed healthcare provider are the only exception to New York law. 

“LGINY partners first came together in 2020 to promote the importance and safety of vaccines for all New Yorkers,” said Christine Doucet, MD, President of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. “Family physicians and other primary care clinicians are a trusted source of guidance for children and adults. At this critical time, when established evidence-based sources of expertise are under attack, patients should continue to trust and rely upon their physician or other primary care clinician for sound and objective advice.”

The New York State Vaccines For Children program provides recommended vaccines for eligible children at no cost.