More Than Half of Children Born 2004-2008 May Not Be Vaccinated

A study released by JAMA and Reuters Health[1] has estimated that more than half of all children born between 2004 and 2008 have not received at least one or more of the suggested vaccines for children required before the age of 2. This is an alarming trend because it could mean that communities could be at risk for a large outbreak of a preventable disease such as whooping cough or measles.

The sad part of this is that vaccines in Texas are available at low or no cost to parents through organizations who are members of the Texas Vaccines for Children program. The program allows parents who are uninsured to receive the vaccines by filling out a simple form. What happens often in many communities is that parents wait until the children enter the public schools and are turned away, because they do not have their child’s shot record, or the record is not up to date. The State of Texas also provides a free service called ImmTrac. ImmTrac allows the child’s shot record to be put online where it can be stored. The record can be accessed by the schools or physician’s offices that have access to ImmTrac and the child’s records can be updated or accessed. This can be particularly helpful during evacuations from storms where parents may not have a lot of time to gather everything they need or just for recovering records that have been lost or misplaced.

Dr. S. Naved Hasan, Medical director at PHC, Inc. Pasadena, Texas said,” It is a shame that more parents do not take the opportunity to use the Texas Vaccines for Children program. We see a large number of children each year who are rushed to the center because they do not have their proper immunizations and it creates an unnecessary burden on the health care system and the schools.” The shots are readily available all year long. Parents can simply bring the child in or ask during a routine visit for information on what vaccines are needed. In addition ImmTrac is free. All parents must do is to request that their child’s records be placed on ImmTrac.  Dr. Hasan added that, “it is not uncommon in August to see children receiving as many as 6 shots in one visit because of the neglect that has gone on. Parents can avoid this by having routine visits scheduled for their children and following up on their child’s health care on a regular basis.”