States with a low rank in childhood immunizations look for a way up

With overall rates high, areas that aren't doing as well are devising strategies to get kids their shots.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Sept. 12, 2005.

Physicians in Texas are studying the impact an expanded vaccine exemption law and cuts to the Children's Health Insurance Program may be having on their state's vaccination rates.

In recognition that too many children are getting their fourth DTaP shot late or not at all, the Oklahoma State Dept. of Health is urging that in some instances the shot be given at age 1, the earliest time recommended, rather than the preferred age of 15 to 18 months.

In Alaska, the public health department is considering a media campaign to encourage parents to bring their kids in. "We need to do this all the time," said Richard Mandsager, MD, the state's director of public health. "We can't ever take a breath."

These are a few of the efforts that public health officials and physicians in states with lower vaccination rates are taking in light of National Immunization Survey statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July.

"We are making some significant strides," said James W. Hendricks, MD, a pediatrician from Tulsa, Okla. "No one's giving up."

For the first time, the country as a whole exceeded by one percentage point the Healthy People 2010 goal of 80% coverage for the baseline series of childhood immunizations, but rates varied widely across the country. To be fair, it appears that the majority of children do get most of their shots no matter where they are, but timeliness is more of a problem in some states than others. And not every child is getting every single shot.