Countryside Public Health

(Benson MN-) Childhood vaccinations are going down in the five counties served by Countryside Public Health. Public Heath Nurse Liz Auch says they serve Swift, Chippewa, Big Stone, Yellow Medicine and Lac Qui Parle Counties, and in four of the five counties, the numbers of parents getting the usual vaccinations for diseases such as chicken pox, mumps, measles and rubella have dropped. In Swift County 75% were vaccinated in 2018, and it dropped to 66% in 2019, and Auch expects the numbers to continue going down for 2020 and 21. They'd like to see the number closer to 90%. She says there's a couple reasons...politics and COVID-19...

...Jennie Lippert with Kandiyohi County Public Health says mis-information about the COVID-19 vaccine is impacting childhood vaccination rates...

...Auch says as a result of people not getting their children vaccinated, childhood diseases are on the upswing...

...As for COVID-19 vaccinations, Auch says her service area ranges from 56% percent in Yellow Medicine County to 65% in Big Stone County. The statewide average is 75.3%. Lippert says regarding childhood vaccines, Kandiyohi County has also seen a drop in numbers, but not as bad as other counties in our region, or the state as a whole.