Child Vaccination Status Study Launched

W A S H I N G T O N, Dec. 11 -- President Clinton is ordering federalofficials to study the immunization status of the 5 millionchildren under age 5 who receive government assistance, hoping toincrease the rate of American youngsters who are fully vaccinated.

“This is a major step forward to try to ensure childrenenrolled in WIC, some of our poorest children, are protected,”said Dr. Walt Orenstein, referring to the federal nutrition programfor Women, Infants and Children.

Orenstein heads the national immunization program for theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, in Atlanta.

Clinton was being joined former first lady Rosalynn Carter,Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and AgricultureSecretary Dan Glickman for the formal announcement of theinitiative today.

The president’s executive memorandum requires the AgricultureDepartment to study the condition of the children participating inthe WIC program. It also directs the USDA and the CDC to develop anational strategic plan to improve immunization rates among at-riskchildren.

In 1993, less than 63 percent of children under age 3 hadreceived a full course of vaccinations.

At an All-Time High

Childhood immunization rates are at an all-time high, with morethan 90 percent of America’s toddlers receiving critical vaccinesby age 2. Government officials say they also managed to narrow thegap among racial and ethnic groups with vaccination levels nearlythe same for all preschool children.

Still, officials are concerned that in some parts of thecountry, many children continue to go without vaccinations.

For instance, according to the CDC, low-income, minoritychildren are less likely to be immunized than others. In certaininner-city areas, immunization rates are as low as 65 percent.

That concerns health officials who say those toddlers are at ahigher risk for potentially deadly diseases such as diphtheria,poliomyelitis, measles, mumps and rubella.