Kim Schrier, the 1st Pediatrician in Congress, Shares Important Vaccine Message for Parents

As the first and only pediatrician in Congress, Representative Kim Schrier of Washington state has a unique perspective.

Her background is her "north star," Schrier tells TODAY.com, as she prioritizes policies including reproductive rights, universal preschool and the child tax credit. And right now, she's particularly concerned about the politicization of public health issues, especially vaccines.

Schrier, who is also only the second woman physician in Congress, says we're experiencing an "awful time" in public health right now. She points to cuts to federal health agencies and research institutions that are "undermining efforts to keep all of us healthy and united."

Amid changes to COVID-19 vaccine coverage and potential changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, Schrier's first message to parents is one of empathy.

"It must be really hard to be a parent right now, having to make decisions about vaccines because there's so much misinformation flying around out there," she says. "Parents are always afraid that they might do the wrong thing, and nobody wants to hurt their child."

She adds that she wants parents to know that vaccines are tested, safe and effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics, agree that getting kids their recommended vaccines on time can help protect them — and those around them — from many potentially serious illnesses.

Schrier also wants parents to understand what's at stake if vaccination rates fall significantly, as they already have in some areas of the country.

"If we don’t all vaccinate, these diseases are going to come back, and we’re going to go back to the 1800s when so many children were dying," Schrier says.

It's not just that some kids either have a mild rash or die, she says. "In between (those two extremes), kids suffer, and you can prevent that from happening to your child," Schrier says.

"As a pediatrician and a mom who fully immunized her child and had no hesitancy, I have taken care of kids with some of the diseases that we are preventing," she says. "Fortunately, many of these diseases are no longer in this country because of immunizations."

As a pediatrician, Schrier says she has treated a child with measles, who later developed a chronic condition that she says may have been connected to the illness.

"A lot of people out there still think measles is just a rash, and that is flat wrong," Schrier says. "The rash is characteristic, but these kids are miserable," she says, and this was "one of the most miserable kiddos I've ever seen."

The patient was crying, had difficulty breathing, a horrible ear infection, 104-degree fevers and wasn't eating normally, she says. It took an older pediatrician to diagnose the child "because none of us had ever seen (a case of measles)," she says, adding that an experience like that "sticks with you."

But it's not just measles. She's also concerned about cases of whooping cough, meningitis, chickenpox and polio — all of which can be prevented with routine vaccinations — coming back.

And, with respiratory virus season on the horizon, Schrier wants parents to remember that COVID-19 and the flu can both be severe and even deadly. COVID is not "zero risk" for children, she says, noting that 152 children died in the U.S. from the disease just last year.

While COVID-19 vaccines don't always prevent you from getting sick, they can significantly help prevent severe illness that might require hospitalization, as well as long COVID, she says, and "that's a big deal."

For parents who may feel confused with all the vaccine chaos swirling at the moment, Schrier says her "fundamental message" is to talk to your doctor or pediatrician.

That is the person "who has been there since day one, who you know only wants the best for your child, who will answer your questions, who will hold your hand through this, give you space and respect," Schrier says. "You can trust them."