Every September, as a new school year starts, a common theme rings from schoolyard to schoolyard and across the land: make sure your child is fully immunized against a wide range of preventable diseases.
In fact, we’ve heard the plea to immunize children so often that the tendency of some people is to simply ignore it – or at least assume they are in compliance and do nothing.
The start of another school year is a reminder for everyone – both children and adults alike – to fully comply with all immunizations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This is particularly important within the fast-growing Hispanic community. Vaccination coverage has trailed that of non-Hispanic white children, especially for diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccine, for example.
However, the gap has been closing in recent years, and in fact immunization coverage is statistically even among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites for hepatitis B and measles-mumps-rubella vaccination, and coverage among Hispanics is slightly better than that for non-Hispanic whites for polio and chickenpox.
In fact, childhood immunization levels in some Latin American countries are higher than those in the U.S. Although Hispanic families understand the importance of immunizing their children, many Hispanics are faced with navigating a health care system they do not understand and do not have access to preventive care and quality, affordable health insurance.
However, overall immunization coverage in all ethnic groups remains a concern within the health care community. The CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for children aged birth through six years suggests timely inoculation against hepatitis A and B, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, polio, measles-mumps-rubella and other diseases.
The schedule may be found online at . But, therein lies one considerable challenge: although Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the population in terms of computer use, many Hispanics still do not own computers or have access to technology.
In addition, many Hispanic families have less access to health insurance and preventive care and may have more difficulty navigating the health care system and keeping current with immunization schedules. This is especially true in immigrant communities.
There are other reasons why compliance among Hispanics often lags behind. Perhaps most significant is the theory that immunization monitoring within the Hispanic community is insufficient. According to The Office of Minority Health, a study by the National Immunization Survey suggested that improved and more localized monitoring among Hispanic communities could increase compliance.
To encourage increased immunization compliance, the CDC highlights several programs at . These include Vaccines for Children, which provides free vaccines to doctors who serve eligible children. Also important is the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (www.hmhb.org), which promotes efforts to encourage greater acceptance and use of immunization.
Clearly, immunization is among the most significant public health achievements ever. Over the years vaccines have eradicated smallpox, eliminated wild poliovirus in the U.S., and significantly reduced the number of reported cases of measles and other diseases.
It is one of the most effective ways to protect children and adults from many common but serious infectious diseases. At the same time, keeping people healthier through immunization lowers the associated social and financial costs for families, including time lost from school and work and the cost of medical bills.
Remember: although regular and timely immunization can be slightly inconvenient, such inconvenience pales compared with the health challenges that will arise if your child develops a serious disease that might have been easily prevented. As our own parents said when we were young and being vaccinated, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Dr. Christopher Stanley is senior medical director for UnitedHealthcare of Colorado. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
