Area doctors address vaccine confusion, misinformation as infant vaccine rates plummet

Area health experts shared the benefits of vaccines Monday night.

The event featured doctors who addressed controversy and confusion around immunizations, while clarifying facts about vaccines.

Experts say vaccination rates for infants dropped from near 70% before the pandemic to 58% last year, with misinformation being a primary cause.

Beacon Health System Co-Medical Director for Education Dr. David Vanryn said, “We see the day-to-day impacts on patients who are not vaccinated, whether they be children or adults for that matter. And so we think that that’s leading to a continued decrease in our population health and concerns for our community.”

Doctors say they have concerns about recent changes to vaccine recommendations on a national scale and emphasize there is no connection to vaccines and autism.