Declining Kindergarten Vaccination Rate Leaves 250k Children Unprotected: AAFP President's Perspective

"If 7% of our kids don't get vaccinated, that is a quarter of a million children who are at risk for vaccine-preventable illnesses," said Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, MBA, president of the American Academy of Family Physcians in a recent conversation wtih Patient Care.^©

The AAFP president was referring to new data from the Centers for Disease Contrtol and Prevention that shows a 2-year decline in vaccination rates for kindergarten-aged children, setting the national rate at 93% for the 2021-2022 school year. That rate is down from 94% in the 2020-2021 school year which also reflected a 1% drop from 95% during school year 22019-2020.

The threat of illness for 1 unvaccinated child multiplies many times over in the community where peers, family—and strangers—may be at risk, Iroku-Malize emphasized. More of the conversation follows in this video.

More from the Patient Care conversation with Dr Iroku-Malize:
AAFP President Responds to Steady Decline in Vaccination Rates for Kindergarten-aged Children

It's Vaccination Catch-up Time for Kids: An APB from AAFP President Iroku-Malize

Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, a family physician in Long Island, New York, is current president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Iroku-Malize serves as founding chair and professor of family medicine for the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in Hempstead, New York, and is senior vice president and chair of the family medicine service line for Northwell Health. She oversees 4 family medicine residency programs and 3 fellowships spread across 23 hospitals. She was previously the director of the family medicine residency program at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, New York. She is currently a member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and is active in the Association of Departments of Family Medicine.