S.C. health officials address public to stress importance of vaccinations
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The South Carolina Department of Public Health and its partners spoke Monday morning about vaccinations.
The press conference took place at the Prisma Health Children’s Hospital - Midlands in Columbia at 10 a.m. Officials with Prisma Health and the Medical University of South Carolina were there, too.
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The agency is seeking to raise awareness about the importance of the human papillomavirus vaccine and other immunizations like shingles, tetanus, pneumococcal and more.
They encourage the public to speak to a healthcare provider they trust about staying up to date on their vaccinations.
Edward Simmer, DPH’s interim director, spoke about the importance of vaccination against HPV, classifying it as “one of the most likely viruses to cause cancer” as it is responsible for over 40,000 cases of cancer each year.
Simmer said over 85% of women and over 92% of men will likely contract HPV by the age of 45 if they are not vaccinated.
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Dr. Anna Kathryn Burch, a pediatric infectious diseases physician with Prisma Health, also spoke about the importance of vaccines.
“It is crucial for the protection of children to get their routine vaccines,” she said.
Burch spoke about how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the public’s relationships with vaccinations. She spoke about delays in childhood immunizations caused by quarantine efforts as well as misinformation and mistrust regarding vaccines that was spread during the pandemic.
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“They don’t cause autism. They don’t cause diseases. They actually do the opposite,” said Burch. “They protect our children.”
Officials also highlighted a specific effort to provide vaccinations to underserved communities by recognized MUSC’s mobile HPV vaccine van, which has visited over 50 schools in 29 different counties.
This event took place during August, which is National Immunization Awareness Month.
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