Does Giving Shots at Sick Visits Delay Well-Child Care?

Immunizations are often deferred when babies are sick, which contributes to lower immunization rates. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends immunizing children with minor illnesses (e.g., acute otitis media [AOM]), but recognizes that this practice could lead to children not returning for a timely well-child visit. Researchers retrospectively examined this issue in more than 1000 babies in the Oregon Health Plan (family income ≤185% of federal poverty level) who received a diagnosis of AOM at age 2, 4, or 6 months. At the primary care sick visit for AOM, 8% received DTaP immunization, 57% were not immunized but had a make-up well-child visit within 4 weeks, and 36% had neither sick-visit immunization nor a timely make-up well-child …