WASHINGTON, D.C. — United States Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is pushing for a better effort to have kids stay on top of their vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the number of kids receiving thier measles vaccinations has dropped 70% in Minnesota compared to last summer.

Klobuchar believes doctors' offices being closed during the pandemic is a contributing factor.

"The last thing you need right now is to have your kid get measles, or to get a serious case of flu in the fall when you could've prevented it with a flu shot," she said.

She also said if more kids don't keep up on their shots, measles and flu cases could rise this fall, along with COVID-19 cases.

"Now is not a time to say, 'Eh, I'll wait on that vaccine until maybe COVID goes away'." Klobuchar said. "Don't do that. Get the vaccines now."

Klobuchar wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services to possibly address the problem at the federal level, and she hopes to work with them on a vaccine plan.