Back-to-school shots: Pediatrician answers health care questions as federal guidance shifts

The start of the new school year isn't too far away — many districts commence classes after the Minnesota State Fair and the Labor Day holiday weekend.

As parents get ready, the federal guidance around vaccines has been confusing, as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has fired advisory panels and spouted unsupported information about shots and side effects.

So what should kids and families do to start the school year off healthy? M Health Fairview Pediatrician Dr. Lara Al-Ejeilat joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition Friday with answers.

The following has been lightly edited for clarity. Listen to the conversation by clicking the player button above.

It seems like it’s been a quiet summer for COVID, without a seasonal surge?

Yes. But we’re actually seeing a lot of other stuff, like hand, foot, and mouth disease. It’s a viral infection. It goes away by itself, but it causes spots on the hands, inside the mouth, the bottom of the feet, and a fever for five days. It’s hard for kids to swallow. It is very, very contagious, which is why, when one kid gets it at a daycare, almost all of them do.

Measles cases continue to spread. What are you telling parents about getting the MMR vaccine?

I tell them that vaccines have been very rigorously studied. The original measles vaccine was licensed in 1963. The combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been around since 1971 and so it has been very well studied with multiple studies crossing millions of children all around the world to prove its safety and its efficacy. So I would have no hesitation giving it to my own children and recommending it for all my patients.

I do think vaccines are their own worst enemy, because you don't see things that we have been able to eliminate and protect people from, which is why people are no longer as scared of them.

What do you try to tell parents who might be a little hesitant about vaccination?

Understanding what their fear is is really the biggest thing. So it's that connection with the parents and realizing, because there's so much misinformation out there, and it's hard to unread what you read. So the idea is, what did you read? What are you scared of? And then I can help support you with, “what are the data? What are the proven studies that we have about the safety?”

What else are parents asking you, as they get their kids ready for school?

They ask if the vaccine schedule has been changed or affected [by federal actions]. And no, the American Academy of Pediatrics has been very clear about the vaccine recommendations that have not changed and the vaccines that are still required for kids to go to school safely. And then I always tell people that I would never recommend anything to you that I don't do for my own children. I have three kiddos, and they are all vaccinated on the very safe and effective vaccine schedule that we have.