According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, child vaccinations across the United States decreased by more than 21% between January and April of last year. With public health response measures to mitigate the ongoing pandemic centered on social distancing and quarantine policies, including shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders, many parents simply did not take their children in for their vaccinations.
Dr. Renata Lukezic is not only concerned about this trend, she s also doing something about it.
Lukezic, a board certified pediatrician assigned to Navy Medical Readiness and Training Unit Everett in Washington, voluntarily took over as the immunization provider for the clinic due to her clinical expertise, vested interest in providing safe services and to continue her patient advocacy efforts.
When COVID-19 was spreading across Italy in February 2020, all eyes at David Grant U.S. Air Force Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, California were fixated on the unfolding pandemic, realizing their hospital may potentially be one of the first to be impacted.
Air Force Lt. Col. Laurie Migliore, acting director, Clinical Investigation Facility and director of Biobehavioral Research, along with essential medical personnel were charged with reviewing Grant s Crisis Standards of Care, particularly the availability of palliative care for potential COVID-19 patients.
Migliore said it became evident from seeing the death rates in Italy that DGMC may be impacted with unprecedented numbers of critically ill and potentially dying patients. They had to be ready to provide both medical and palliative care.