Vaccine access of Americans, especially for children and the elderly, is “critically important,” Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) said Tuesday.
“We need to get back to a normal place where we understand that vaccination has really changed the world,” Bucshon said during “Boosting the Status Quo: Vaccinating America’s Most Vulnerable,” a panel event hosted by The Hill and sponsored by the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.
“Access to vaccination is really critically important for both children and seniors.”
Bucshon’s comments come as the U.S. grapples with declining childhood vaccination rates stemming from lingering vaccine hesitancy from the COVID-19 pandemic.
American parents still overwhelmingly support vaccinating their children but vaccination rates among kindergarteners fell throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
National vaccine rates among kindergarteners declined from 95 percent to about 93 percent between the 2019-20 and 2021-22 school years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On top of this, kindergarten exemptions rose by to 3 percent last year, with vaccine exceptions increasing in 41 states exceeding 5 percent in 10 states, according to the CDC.
Vaccine exception rates greater than 5 percent limit the level of achievable vaccination coverage which “increases the risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases,” according to the agency.
During the event, Bucshon, who is also a physician, touched on how Republican lawmakers contributed to spread of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine by “pushing back” on doctors in Congress like himself from encouraging Americans to get the shot.
“I think we are getting back to a more normal time, with COVID it was just such a big disruption worldwide and there was a scramble to get a vaccine to stop it,” he said. “Unfortunately, that scramble also happened during an election year in America.”
The congressman said his biggest concern about the surviving vaccine hesitancy from the pandemic is how it has spilled over into childhood vaccinations for diseases like the measles and mumps.
“This has been established medical care, for most people, for decades,” he said.
Bucshon added that while some people do suffer from adverse health events following vaccination, the rate at which those adverse events occur is tiny.
“Statistically, you’re in better shape if you get yourself vaccinated.”
This story was updated on Sept. 18, 2024.