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CDC Focuses on Late-Vaccinated Toddlers
CDC Focuses on Late-Vaccinated Toddlers
Fri Aug 1, 9:12 AM ET By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON - Mary-Clayton Enderlein worried when a baby brought to her son's play date had a very distinctive cough — a high-pitched "whoop" while gasping for air. It might indeed be whooping cough, the baby's mother agreed, explaining that the family didn't believe in vaccines against that or any other disease. A week later, a now-coughing Enderlein gave birth to her second son — and the newborn promptly sickened, too. Little Colin spent 10 days in intensive care in a Seattle hospital, turning blue as 50 coughs in a row would wrack his body. It took months for Enderlein, Colin and the playmate who infected them to all recover. About 75 percent of the nation's toddlers get vaccinated on time, protecting them from getting — and spreading — nine different diseases. But coverage varies widely among states and major cities, with pockets of the country where far too few youngsters are up-to-date on their shots, federal health officials warned Thursday as they urged communities to eliminate those disparities. As Enderlein's scare shows, getting shots late or not at all doesn't just endanger the unvaccinated child. He or she in turn can spread disease to people with weakened immune systems like elderly grandparents, friends with cancer, pregnant neighbors or younger children — a reason that so-called community immunity is vital to public health. Last year, Colorado had the most immunization laggards, with just 62.7 percent of toddlers getting all their shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites) said. Nine other states have fewer than 70 percent on-time toddler vaccinations: Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington. Massachusetts was doing the best job, immunizing 86 percent of toddlers on time. Also raising the national average were the five other New England states as well as North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and South Dakota — states that immunize more than 80 percent of toddlers on time. There was even more variation when CDC checked records of some large cities. In Newark, N.J., for example, just 57.5 percent of toddlers had up-to-date shots. The government's goal is that by 2010, 80 percent of all toddlers get on-time vaccinations against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, meningitis-causing Haemophilus influenza or Hib, hepatitis B, polio (news - web sites), measles, mumps and rubella. Nationally, vaccination rates for those diseases have remained about the same for the last few years, as doctors struggled to keep toddlers up to date amid shortages of some key shots. So far this year, supplies seem adequate. In addition to the nine most-measured vaccines, toddlers are supposed to get shots against chickenpox and the pneumococcal vaccine that protects against certain types of meningitis and ear infections. Last year, a record 81 percent of toddlers received the chickenpox inoculation, up from 76 percent in 2001, the CDC said. And 41 percent of youngsters received the pneumococcal immunization, the first time the CDC ever counted this vaccine, which hit the market in 2000. It's not clear why some states have a harder time vaccinating, said CDC immunization chief Dr. Walter Orenstein. Vaccine-phobic parents like the mother Enderlein encountered are a minority — well over 90 percent of infants get vaccinated. Instead, Orenstein said, simply remembering to keep up with the roughly 20 doses required by age 2 is hard for parents and doctors alike. CDC's advice: _States should identify communities where vaccination rates are significantly below the national average and eliminate the disparities. Poorer children are most likely to be missed. _Parents should get their child's immunization records and ask if the child is up to date every time they see the pediatrician. _Doctors should check vaccine records even if the child is just in for, say, an ear exam. Any visit is an opportunity to give a missed vaccine. _States should invest in computerized vaccination registries, which can automatically send parents reminders about overdue shots and help keep physician records up to date. "If we let down our guard ... vaccine-preventable diseases will return," Orenstein warned. |
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CDC Focuses on Late-Vaccinated Toddlers
The M-C anecdote as told by Reuters (www.reutershealth.com, Health
eLine, 8/1/03): Doubters trouble U.S. immunization professionals Last Updated: 2003-08-01 10:40:30 -0400 (Reuters Health) By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mary-Clayton Enderlein was worried when a friend came by with a wheezing, coughing infant. "I said, 'I think your child has whooping cough,"' said Enderlein, a nurse. She was surprised, as whooping cough, which can kill babies, is one of the first vaccines a child is supposed to receive, by the age of 2 months. "She said she didn't believe in immunizations," Enderlein said. A week later Enderlein, then nine months pregnant, came down with a violent cough just before she gave birth to a healthy son, Colin. "When I kissed him, I passed on pertussis (whooping cough) to him," Enderlein told a news conference. Both infants ended up in intensive care and Colin nearly died. Enderlein was angry at first but now wants to educate parents who oppose getting their children vaccinated. "I live in Seattle--we have a lot of that going on," she said in an interview. "People are skeptical of the government, they are skeptical about side effects. They are living an alternative lifestyle." Before immunizations became widespread, an average of 147,000 people in the United States developed whooping cough every year and 9,000 died. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 62 U.S. children died of whooping cough between 1997 and 2000. Overall, 75 percent of U.S. children have received the full schedule of shots to protect against polio, mumps, measles, rubella (German measles), Haemophilus influenzae B, hepatitis B, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus. PARENTS OPTING OUT Although children cannot enroll in school or day-care without the shots, states often allow parents whose religions forbid vaccination to send their children to school. Texas and Arkansas this year also passed laws allowing "conscientious or philosophical" exemptions. Parents need to be able to make such choices for themselves, argues Kathi Williams of the Vienna, Virginia-based National Vaccine Information Center. "Our group was formed because our kids were injured by vaccines," Williams said in a telephone interview. "We are not anti-vaccine. But I think parents have legitimate concerns about the number of vaccines their children are given and the vaccine schedule." Williams, who believes her son suffered brain damage after receiving the combined diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus vaccine 20 years ago, said many parents feel backed against a wall by "all or nothing" vaccine requirements. But vaccine advocates worry that parents do not understand the risks. "We can respect some choices, such as smoking," said Lynn Frank, chief of public health services in Montgomery County, Maryland. "But I cannot really respect choices that will lead to the death of a child." Enderlein also believes in choices. "However, a choice not to immunize is a choice that affects the whole community," she said. Measles kills 1.1 million children around the world every year, about half of them in Africa. In the Netherlands, 3,000 cases of measles and three deaths were reported in 2000 after a small group of children at one school were not vaccinated for religious reasons and many became infected. "We need to do a better job educating parents," said Dr. David Neumann, head of the National Partnership for Immunization. |
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CDC Focuses on Late-Vaccinated Toddlers
"JG" wrote
The government's goal is that by 2010, 80 percent of all toddlers get on-time vaccinations against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, meningitis-causing Haemophilus influenza or Hib, hepatitis B, polio (news - web sites), measles, mumps and rubella. Someone call WHO(!); I read a couple of days ago that "they" think eradicating polio by 2005 is "doable" (given MORE money, natch!). And polio was already eradicated from N.America many years ago. The polio vaccine is a sacred cow. The pro-vaccine folks might still be urging polio vaccines in 2010, even if polio is eradicated worldwide in 2005. "If we let down our guard ... vaccine-preventable diseases will return," Orenstein warned. *Yawn* See the other story about vaccination rates at an all-time high? As I write this, Dr. Dean Edell is reciting the M-C nurse story on his radio program. He says that parents making choices about vaccines is about like drivers making choices about how fast they go. It seems like a wacky analogy from someone whose main political cause is legalized marijuana. |
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CDC Focuses on Late-Vaccinated Toddlers
"Roger Schlafly" wrote in message
t... "JG" wrote See the other story about vaccination rates at an all-time high? Yes; it looks like the federal public health poohbahs could use someone more adept at timing press releases! g As I write this, Dr. Dean Edell is reciting the M-C nurse story on his radio program. He says that parents making choices about vaccines is about like drivers making choices about how fast they go. It seems like a wacky analogy from someone whose main political cause is legalized marijuana. Hehehe. An ophthalmologist dispensing advice about vaccinations...sheesh. Anyone call in to point out the (timing) flaws in M-C's "A week later..." story? JG |
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CDC Focuses on Late-Vaccinated Toddlers
"JG" wrote
Hehehe. An ophthalmologist dispensing advice about vaccinations...sheesh. Anyone call in to point out the (timing) flaws in M-C's "A week later..." story? No, Dean Edell doesn't take contrary calls. If he did, he'd surely get a lot on circumcision and recreational drug use, where he often states controversial opinions. |
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