CDC encouraging schools to post vaccine info

It’s one of the few public health arenas in which Ohio can justifiably boast of its position on a national stage.

Kids in kindergarten through grade five need the vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

All states require children to receive vaccinations before they can be enrolled in school, but many allow parents to choose not to vaccinate for religious or philosophical reasons.

The second report on infant vaccine uptake-centered on children ages 19 to 35 months-is based on a large survey, with vaccinations reported by parent respondents verified by the providers that vaccinated their children. About 67 percent of toddlers in 2014 were fully vaccinated by 3 years of age. Another 0.6 percent had medical exemptions, the data show. Schuchat recommended parents find out what their states’ vaccination exemption rates are.

“During 2015, measles outbreak cases have included 68 unvaccinated U.S. residents, among whom 29 (43 percent) cited philosophic or religious objections to vaccination”, the study authors wrote in the August 28 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Ohio landed in the bottom third of states. Most were linked to the measles outbreak that first surfaced at Disneyland last December, an outbreak that was probably started by an individual who became infected while traveling overseas.

Schuchat said a promising finding from the report is that an increasing number of states are providing vaccine-exemption data online.

Some states have been trying to limit exemptions.

Rebecca Fath: “What should parents be aware of now that the state has released updated requirements about vaccines?”

“I think the state is being more vigilant about making sure children have complied with required vaccines”, said Nancy Adams, executive director of the Monroe County Medical Society.

Still, it’s reasonable to assume the state’s efforts to increase vaccination are paying off, Losey said. Idaho has the highest proportion of kindergartners with exemptions, at 6.5 percent. Only 1.7% of US parents of kindergartners sought exemptions in 2014 from laws, showed study.

Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Wyoming all saw significant increases in rotavirus vaccination previous year.

Taylor also said the local reactions to vaccines, which can include fever or swelling around the site of the injection, are often confused with allergic reactions, and that most children do not actually have allergies to vaccines. This occurred after, in 2000, the United States declared that measles was eliminated from the country, thanks to an effective measles vaccine and a strong vaccination program for children. “The amounts in vaccines are small, and what they don’t realize is that babies who are breast fed get more Thimerosal in milk than in all shots combined”.