3:47
- ABC News
- April 29, 2020
Impact of COVID-19 on infant and child health care
Avoiding doctor’s offices could have dire consequences beyond vaccination rates.
Boston Medical Center created a \"mobile clinic\" with a donated ambulance that delivers health care across Boston. This includes newborn care and infant vaccines as well as care for children with chronic diseases and families without access to food and supplies.
Pediatricians are also concerned about outbreaks of teenage pregnancy as teens struggle to stay at home and may not have access to contraceptive methods, so the mobile clinic is delivering contraceptive shots.
However, not every zip code has access to mobile clinics, leaving some children without care. Pediatricians urge these families to seek care when appropriate.
Although adults with chronic diseases should avoid hospitals when possible, families should be reassured that extensive measures are being taken to prevent the spread of infection. Both Costello and Bracho-Sanchez said their offices are screening all patients at the door for signs of infection and seeing sick children in entirely different areas.
But with lockdowns still ongoing in many cities and warnings about COVID-19 dominating daily news, Costello and Bracho-Sanchez say the main barrier to keeping kids healthy is the understandable fear felt by parents.
\"The messaging about social distancing and the sheer number of cases in our hospital has made people think twice about coming in to care,\" said Costello. \"I'm worried about the degree to which the 'fear factor' is impacting families coming in when they really should come in.\"
Chloë Nunneley, M.D., a resident physician in pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
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