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Saint Barnabas Department of Pediatrics Stresses the Importance of Timely Immunizations LIVINGSTON, N.J., August, 2003-- Each year children preparing to enter kindergarten make a visit to the pediatrician for a final series of immunizations. These immunizations are a rite of passage, for they generally signal the completion of a child’s immunization record until the teenage years commence. Prior to widespread immunization in the United States, infectious diseases killed or disabled thousands of children each year. In the pre-vaccine year of 1941, 50,000 cases of measles; 11,000 cases of rubella; 6,800 cases of pertussis; and 350 cases of polio were reported in New Jersey. The measles epidemic of 1991 in New Jersey affected more then 1,138 people; 455 were hospitalized; and three died. According to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, a major cause of the 1991 measles epidemic in the Garden State was the failure to vaccinate children on time at 12-15 months of age. Of preschool-aged children aged 12 months to 5 years old who contracted measles, 70 percent were unvaccinated. “National coverage for routinely recommended immunizations remains at or near record levels,” says Anthony Minnefor, M.D., Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. “At a time when much attention is being given to the delivery of cost-efficient health care, no better example can be found than in the area of childhood immunizations. Vaccines have been strikingly effective in preventing disease in immunized children. However, as outbreaks of measles have shown, lapses in immunizations can result in otherwise avoidable disease.” The Department of Pediatrics at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services provide the following Childhood Immunizations Facts: It is recommended that all children in the United States receive vaccinations against 10 diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, varicella, and most recently pneumococcal disease. Children need 80 percent of their vaccinations in the first two years of life, which requires multiple doses of vaccine and about five visits to a health care provider. New Jersey and the other 49 states have immunization requirements for children entering day care and school; there are no such laws assuring that all children are up-to-date on their shots by age two. Immunization is one of the most effective ways to prevent disease. Vaccine-preventable disease levels have been reduced by over 99 percent since the introduction of vaccines. Vaccines are safe; 99.9 percent of vaccines administered resulted in no serious reactions or side effects to persons vaccinated. Low levels of disease in the U.S. are associated with record high levels of immunization of preschool children. In 2001, approximately 78 percent of New Jersey's two-year-olds received the basic recommended series of 4 doses of diptheria/tetanus/pertussis vaccine, 3 doses of polio vaccine, and 1 dose of measles/mumps vaccine. Despite this success of state immunization programs, about 22 percent of New Jersey's toddlers or approximately 24,200 two year olds, lack one or more doses of this series. Reported cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases are at, or near, all time low levels. Over the past several years, fewer than 10 cases of measles have occurred. No cases of indigenous measles have occurred in New Jersey from May 1998 through 2002. New Jersey is one of approximately 25 states that require health insurance companies to provide childhood vaccines as a covered benefit to policyholder families. [ top ] |
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