New measures aim to boost vaccine rates for flu and other shots in US

The Trump administration has announced measures intended to boost childhood vaccination rates that have sagged during the coronavirus pandemic, putting hundreds of thousands at risk of contracting serious and life-threatening diseases.

The Department of Health and Human Services is giving permission to pharmacists nationwide to administer all scheduled shots to children as young as three, including the flu vaccine, a step that makes immunization more convenient.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that a high-dose flu shot aimed at better protecting people 65 and older will guard against four strains of the virus this year, rather than three. Because the conventional flu vaccine can be less successful in older people, an enhanced shot to boost their immune system has been offered in recent years.

Protecting against the impending flu season is foremost on the minds of public health officials, who worry about the confluence of cases of flu and Covid-19 hitting hospitals this fall and winter. On Wednesday, Massachusetts announced that it will require all students, ranging from six-month-olds in daycare centres to those younger than 30, to get flu shots by December 31. It is the first state to institute such a sweeping requirement for the shot, which is rarely mandated in the US.

Although many public health advocates welcomed the ruling, the American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents paediatricians, decried it as misguided, in large part because it might short-circuit essential visits to doctors’ offices.

Adm. Brett P. Giroir, the assistant secretary for health, acknowledged as much. In a statement, Giroir, a pediatric critical care physician, said, “As we expand options during the Covid-19 response, we are also reminding parents, grandparents, and caretakers that there is no substitute for a critically important well-child visit with a paediatrician or other licensed primary care provider when available.”

But he also said that he knew firsthand of the devastation to children and families from disabling and life-threatening diseases, making it important to provide as many ways as possible to get the shots.

“The cornerstone of public health, vaccines, makes these dreaded diseases preventable,” he said.