IDAHO FALLS \u2014 Local health specialists have come together with the goal of encouraging parents with unvaccinated children to vaccinate their kids. <\/p>\n
Josh Smith, a pediatric endocrinologist at Rocky Mountain Diabetes in Idaho Falls, along with local clinics such as The Pediatric Center, Idaho Falls Pediatrics and Just 4 Kids Health, are hoping to see an increase in childhood vaccination rates. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s super important that kids in general get vaccinated because we don\u2019t want to go back to 60, 70, 80 years ago when we were dealing with these terrible diseases and kids were dying,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Smith pointed out that right now, one of the big concerns when it comes to diseases is measles.<\/p>\n
\u201cUtah is a hotbed for measles right now. \u2026 They are so close (to Idaho), and we know that vaccinations have gone down here as well,\u201d Smith stated. \u201cThere have been measles cases here recently in the area, but they get contained pretty well. But, (measles) can be devastating to these kids who are not vaccinated. And the same with other diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said that he and these clinics recognize that, since COVID hit in 2019, public trust in government entities and healthcare providers has diminished. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince COVID, a lot of doctors and the patient-relationship have been strained because of going through a pandemic with a new pathogen that we didn\u2019t know a lot about,\u201d Smith explained. \u201cThat was like science in real-time. You were getting scientists together, trying to figure out what the truth is and what is not. Then you have the internet that blew a lot of stuff out of proportion. And you had political leaders who were carrying on about certain treatments that were completely not true.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stated there was a lot of \u201cmisinformation and disinformation\u201d during the pandemic when what was needed was to try to stick with the science.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver time, we\u2019ve been able to do more trials and see what has worked and what hasn\u2019t. But going through that process in the public, that was rough on everybody,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Smith said they want people to know they trust the science behind childhood vaccines and that they can trust their pediatrician.<\/p>\n