Protecting Health Together - InterCommunity Health Network CCO

A Doctor Weighs in for National Immunization Awareness Month

As a pediatrician working in Oregon for more than 20 years, Dr. Kelley Burnett said the most important part of her job was giving vaccines to kids.

“I prevented more disease and death by giving vaccines than anything else,” Burnett said. “Immunizations are really designed to protect either themselves as the patient, or their loved ones and community against illnesses that can have really serious effects.”

August is National Immunization Awareness Month, raising a topic that Burnett said has become increasingly fraught with misinformation. According to a study recently published by The Lancet, a peer-reviewed medical journal, vaccines have saved an estimated 154 million lives between 1974 and 2024 — an average of six lives every minute of every year.

Yet skepticism lingers, leading to outbreaks of diseases like measles once thought to be eradicated in the U.S. Reported cases of measles recently reached their highest levels since 1992.

Now the Chief Medical Officer for InterCommunity Health Network Coordinated Care Organization (IHN-CCO), Burnett said her role is advocating for healthy communities across Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. Immunizations, she said, remain a crucial piece of the puzzle while doctors remain the most trusted sources for vaccine information.

“It’s hard because we travel so much now. We’re just a plane ride away from a preventable disease coming to our community,” Burnett said.

‘A Victim of Our Own Success’

In Oregon, data show an increasing number of young children are falling behind on their routine vaccinations. The rate of 2-year-olds up to date on immunizations for potentially serious diseases — including diphtheria, poliovirus, pertussis and measles — has decreased from 71.3% in 2020 to 68.4% in 2024.

Ironically, Burnett said part of the issue may be that vaccines are so effective that people no longer believe they are at risk for these diseases.

“I think we were a victim of our own success,” she said. “During my parents’ generation, you saw kids in iron lungs or who had permanent disabilities from polio … We don’t hear those stories very much anymore, and so we don’t think it can happen to us. But it can.”

Another unique challenge, Burnett said, is the amount of information (and misinformation) circulating online, making it difficult for people to vet the accuracy of what they’re seeing.

In some cases, Burnett said she’s seen “reporting” that cited nonexistent studies or simply misrepresenting information. It can be difficult for the medical community to counter misinformation, particularly if a website looks authoritative and professional.

“I think it’s hard for the average person to evaluate that,” Burnett said. “You can’t just go by the look of a website. It’s trying to tell (patients) that what Google gives you is what’s been designed to get the most clicks, not necessarily what’s the most factual.”

Combating Misinformation

Of course, no vaccine is 100% effective, Burnett said. There are also certain circumstances where a patient might not be able to have a particular vaccine — perhaps they are immunocompromised, too young or too old.

However, Burnett said that is why it is so important that others are vaccinated in communities to reach herd immunity, protecting their most vulnerable neighbors.

“When we get to certain thresholds in the community, it tends to insulate the entire community against those diseases,” she said.

To reach those thresholds, Burnett said it is important that providers share information with patients that answers their questions compassionately and helps them overcome any lingering skepticism.

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) provides extensive information on its website covering vaccine safety and requirements for children and adults. The site includes multiple links to help answer patients’ questions, including:

A few additional resources that Burnett recommends for health providers include:

Your Local Epidemiologist — Written by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, Burnett said this website initially started around the COVID-19 pandemic but has grown to general vaccine information and presenting evidence-based messaging.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia — Website includes a Vaccine Education Center, covering vaccine schedules, science and safety.
American Academy of Pediatrics — Includes a vaccine schedule and interactive vaccination map showing state-by-state vaccination rates across the country.

Burnett said anyone in IHN-CCO’s coverage area can also contact the organization’s Care Coordination Center or reach out directly to their primary care provider.

“For most vaccines, it’s never too late,” Burnett said. “There are some that are age-specific, but ‘better late than never’ is definitely true most of the time.”