DELAWARE - Delaware’s childhood vaccination guidance and access will remain unchanged despite new federal recommendations altering the national approach to childhood vaccines, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services said Thursday.
The First State will continue following long-standing, immunization schedules intended to protect children from preventable diseases, according to DHSS. The state’s guidance remains aligned with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"Combination vaccines like MMR have been safely used for decades, and the evidence is clear that vaccines do not cause autism," said Delaware Surgeon General Dr. Neil Hockstein. "Requiring families to make additional trips to the doctor for the same protection creates unnecessary barriers and more opportunities for children to fall behind. Our job should be to make it easier for parents to protect their children, not harder."
This comes after the White House issued an executive order Aug. 10 establishing new federal childhood vaccine recommendations and advising states to consider changes to vaccination requirements.
According to DHSS, the federal recommendations reduce the number of diseases for which vaccines are universally recommended for children and move some vaccines to shared clinical decision-making. The recommendations also call for changes in how some vaccines are administered, including separating the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into individual shots and administering vaccines during separate medical visits.
The department, including the Division of Public Health and Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, will continue supporting routine childhood vaccinations consistent with American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. Division of Public Health clinics will also continue offering recommended immunizations to families.
Routine childhood vaccines have been extensively studied and have a long record of preventing diseases that can cause serious illness, require hospital care or lead to death, according to DHSS.
The department encourages families to keep children up to date on recommended vaccinations and discuss questions about immunization schedules or preventive care with their child’s health care provider.
