Colorado’s childhood immunization rate dropped from 83.4 percent in 2005 to 80.3 percent last year, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Although the change was not statistically significant in terms of numbers of children immunized, it did push the state from 16th in the nation down to 30th.
In 2003, Colorado ranked last among the states, with 67.5 percent of children receiving the recommended vaccinations.
“This is a reminder to continue immunization efforts in Colorado,” said Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the state health department. “Immunizations protect children from disease.”
According to the CDC’s annual National Immunization Survey, the percentage of children ages 19 to 35 months who received five recommended childhood vaccines was 80.6 percent in 2006, essentially unchanged from 80.8 percent in 2005.
Massachusetts topped the 2006 list, with 83.6 percent of children getting recommended vaccines, and Nevada was last, with 59.5 percent.
In Colorado, the new CDC data show Latinos getting two vaccines – MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) and varicella (chickenpox) – at higher rates than whites, by 10 percentage points or more. Figures for other immunizations were not available.
“We consistently find that in Colorado, our Hispanic rates are higher than for whites,” Calonge said. “We don’t know why. The providers may do a better job, or culturally, it’s an investment in health the Latino community embraces.”
Geographically, Boulder County tends to have lower immunization rates than the rest of Colorado, Calonge said.
“You see it in Berkeley (California), too,” he said. “Immunization rates fall among the elite. We worry there’s two things going on. They’ve never seen the diseases, so they don’t know how bad they really are, and they take an unrealistic look at the risk of the immunizations themselves.”
Since 2005, the CDC has recommended six vaccinations for children – diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) (DTaP); MMR; Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hepatitis B, polio, and varicella.
Since varicella has been recommended for only two years, the CDC and state figures represent rates for only the first five vaccinations.
When varicella is included, Colorado’s overall childhood vaccination rate drops to 75.9 percent.
Staff writer Katy Human can be reached at 303-954-1910 or khuman@denverpost.com.
