Don’t postpone pediatrician visits during pandemic, state health secretary says

Although the coronavirus pandemic continues, parents should still be taking their children to the pediatrician for well visits and immunizations, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in her online briefing Thursday.

In response to safety concerns, pediatricians and health care providers have changed the way they see patients to ensure children receive necessary care, Levine said.

Adjustments include scheduling well and sick visits at different times of the day and creating separate spaces within offices or at second locations to keep sick children segregated, she said.

Pediatric checkups are important, particularly to ensure children receive vaccinations needed to return to school in the fall, Levine said.

While many across the globe are eagerly awaiting creation of a vaccine for COVID-19, there are already reliable and effective vaccines for other infectious diseases like measles, mumps, whooping cough, chicken pox and polio, she said.

Vaccines protect both children and the entire community, including those with compromised immune systems unable to get vaccinated, she said, noting last year’s measles outbreak in the country.

“We want to ensure that we don’t have a secondary health crisis because of a delay in vaccinations. These are very real threats,” Levine said.

Some other updates she provided on various topics raised by news reporters:

• Summer camps

Levine’s department is working with the governor’s office and other state departments on a decision about the permissibility of camps for children during the pandemic, she said. Guidance should be issued soon, she said.

• Crowded school buses

State officials must discuss “what might happen” with bus transportation to meet the goal of resuming school this fall, she said.

• Trade shows/conventions/concerts

These types of large gatherings are not allowed in the yellow phase of loosened pandemic restrictions, and the state is just starting to discuss what will happen when counties eventually advance to the least restrictive green phase, she said. Levine said she is unable to provide specific guidance at this time on whether such events can be held in the summer or fall.

• Barber shops and hair salons

Levine said the administration is still not allowing these businesses or massage therapists to operate in yellow-phase counties due to “significant concerns.”

“It is impossible to practice social distancing if the very important act of performing the service is going to involve hands-on activities such as cutting hair and styling hair and performing massage therapy,” she said.

• Dentists

Dentists can now treat a variety of “acute issues,” such as placing a crown on a tooth, in accordance with guidance issued last week, she said.

However, regular office visits have not been restored, she said.

“Routine cleanings can be delayed until it’s safe,” she said.