Health officials continue to stress the importance of getting children vaccinated after new numbers showed an alarming decrease during the shutdown.

Dr. Suzette Oyeku, Chief of the Division of Academic General Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, says parents could be putting their child at risk of potential infections.

“This could be whooping cough, we can see measles which we’ve recently had an outbreak, chicken pox and also pneumonia,” says Dr. Oyeku.

Mayor Bill de Blasio recently said there’s been an alarming decrease in the number of childhood vaccinations across the city.

“When we see in the city that there’s a decline of 42% of children under two not getting vaccinated we are concerned because we don’t want an outbreak of some of these diseases to happen,” says Dr. Oyeku.

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With fears of leaving home, Dr. Oyeku says hospitals like Montefiore, have been adapting to a new normal and changed protocols for families coming in.

“We are doing wellness checks and checking their temperatures or screening for fever or doing universal masking,” says Dr. Oyeku.

She advises parents to connect with their pediatricians and form a plan to make sure their children are healthy.

“I had a family on Tuesday and went over what’s going to happen when you come to the office step-by-step, and she was prepared, and she was ready, and everything happened as we planned, and everyone was safe,” says Dr. Oyeku.

Not only will it keep children safe from dangerous infections, but it can help prevent other children from getting sick once our city opens back up.

“In addition to the medical concern, parents may have other uncertainties about the coronavirus. ‘How long is this going to go on? Are we going to see a second wave?’ that’s a concern,” says Dr. Oyeku.