Next month, many Rio Grande Valley students will head back to school, and doctors say getting vaccinated is just as important as picking up school supplies.

Mindy Lopez, a Mission resident, took her 8-year-old daughter to their pediatrician for a checkup. Lopez said she has kept her daughter's vaccines current since birth.

“She's pretty much [up to date] with all the vaccines [since] she was born,” Lopez said.

Lopez said staying consistent with vaccinations started even before her daughter was born.

"My OB-GYN was always saying those are things that you have to do for the kids and for their health," Lopez said. "And since I wanted to put them in school at a very early age, I knew that's the route I wanted to take for the best of their health."

Vaccination rates from the Texas Department of State Health Services show different trends among several Valley school districts, as shown in a Texas Tribune article.

Vaccination rates in Texas schools have been dropping. Look up the latest vaccination rates in your district.

The data shows McAllen ISD had a one-point drop in vaccinations across six vaccines in kindergarteners and 7th graders. Brownsville ISD also saw less than a one point drop in vaccinations in all but hepatitis B for kindergarteners.

Seventh graders in Brownsville ISD saw increases, with whooping cough rising by two points.

Weslaco pediatrician Dr. Umesh Pathak pointed to statements made by President Trump as a possible factor in declining vaccination rates.

"One of the politicians was making some statements that were taken out of context," Pathak said.

Trump claimed last year there was no need to give a baby the hepatitis B vaccine because the disease is sexually transmitted. Pathak believes those statements led to a decline in vaccination rates.

In December, the CDC adopted new guidelines ending the universal recommendation for newborns to receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. The CDC now recommends individual-based decision making between parents and healthcare providers.

Pathak recommends all vaccines for his patients.

"It is very, very important to have our young ones immunized so they don't get any serious diseases, which can be a hundred percent avoided," Pathak said.

Lopez said she plans to keep following that advice.

"The next step for her would be getting her vaccine when she's a teenager," Lopez said.

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