INDIANA Across the nation, including here in Indiana, fewer parents are taking their kids to get vaccinated against once-common childhood diseases. WRTV talked to local health officials about the reasons why.If you arent vaccinating people then youre not preventing them from getting diseases, said Janice Vanmetre, the director of Nursing with the Hamilton County Health Department.Desiree Fitch didnt hesitate to get her 16-month-old started with her vaccine series. As a parent, I just wanted to protect my daughter from any virus that she could get, she told WRTV.However, not everyone chooses to vaccinate their kids.When the pandemic hit, we gave the COVID vaccine, but then afterward we noticed that people werent coming in as much for childhood immunizations, explained Vanmetre.In general, we were in the 80-90 percentile on most vaccines and now were down to like 60-70% on some vaccines, added Melissa McMasters, a registered nurse with the Marion County Health Department whos also over the immunization and infectious disease program. According to 2023 data from the Indiana Department of Health, child vaccination rates for kids 19 to 35 months fell to 59.1% for a completed series, that includes shots for polio, measles, and chicken pox.Thats down nearly 10% since 2019.Although numbers have slowly begun rising, health officials told WRTV they are still not where they are supposed to be. Most of these diseases we havent seen in many many years because everyones been vaccinating their children against them, said Vanmetre.Health officials say even though vaccine hesitancy is still lingering from the pandemic, its something thats always been around, which is why theyre still trying to combat misinformation for education.We always tell them to read about it, talk to your doctor about it, and if you change your mind, youre more than welcome to come back, said McMasters.We want to see more and more individuals come in for vaccines because we are at risk right now, added Vanmetre. She helped launch a campaign with the Hamilton County Health Department that goes to different physicians and pharmacies county-wide also educating them about vaccines in hopes to get the numbers up.They told WRTV that since launching in the summer, theyre already seeing progress. In Marion County, theyve held pop-up vaccine clinics, including in schools to help eliminate barriers to access.They can provide free vaccines to families if they are uninsured. You can click here or call 317-221-2122 for information.