Getting Children Up to Date on Vaccines Requires a Community Approach
August is National Immunization Awareness Month ( NIAM ). 1 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , this annual observance highlights the importance of routine vaccinations for people of all ages . This year , NIAM is also focusing attention on the need to improve immunization rates in many communities .
In the last year or so , we ’ ve had some dramatic reminders of what can happen when immunizations lag . In the fall of 2022 , an unimmunized man in New York was paralyzed by polio . Later that year , an outbreak of measles occurred in Columbus , Ohio : 85 children developed symptoms and 36 were hospitalized . Almost all of them were unvaccinated , and those who were had only received one dose . The outbreak was finally declared over in early February
by KRISTINA BRYANT , MD
2023 .
Since December of 2022 , three cases of measles have been diagnosed in Kentucky . In February , an unvaccinated college student developed measles after international travel . This student exposed thousands of individuals at a religious revival prompting a national health alert . At that time , public health officials disclosed that MMR vaccine coverage among Kentucky kindergarteners was among the lowest in the nation and much lower than the Healthy People 2030 target of 95 %. In recent months , pertussis , commonly known as whooping cough , has made a resurgence in Kentucky . Since May of this year , 18 pertussis cases have been reported from four central Kentucky counties , including Jessamine , Fayette , Boyle and Garrard . Most cases occurred in unimmunized children .
We ’ re always at risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in Louisville . As of June 2 , 2023 , 35,872 Jefferson Country Public School students were reported as not up-to-date with the
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