MAYOR GIULIANI ANNOUNCES HIGHEST CHILDREN'S IMMUNIZATION LEVELS IN NEW YORK CITY
Federal Study Ranks NYC Second In Nation - 81% Of Children Are Immunized
Also joining the Mayor at a press conference at the Fort Green Children's Health Clinic in Brooklyn were Dr. Rosa Gil, the Mayor's Advisor on Health Services, Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) President Luis Marcos, M.D. and corporate representatives who have sponsored the Child Vaccination Program and supported public education campaigns on immunization. The operation of the City's Children's Health Clinics were recently transferred from DOH to HHC.
"Because immunization is absolutely vital in preventing many serious infectious diseases, we are proud that New York City is leading the way in increasing the number of young children who are getting their vaccinations," Mayor Giuliani said.
"But we can't stop at 81 percent. We must continue our education and outreach campaign so we reach those children and their parents who are still not taking advantage of the immunization program. I want to congratulate Dr. Hamburg and her staff at the Department of Health and I also want to thank our corporate partners who have supported the public education campaigns which we have undertaken. Today's results show that the campaigns are working."
New York City's achievement was tracked by the CDC through its second National Immunization Survey (NIS), an ongoing federal government project to monitor the vaccination coverage levels among children aged 19-35 months throughout the United States.
The NIS, which is based on 1995 statistics, revealed that more than four out of five children surveyed in New York City received every dose of the vaccinations in the time frame recommended by the CDC.
The City's immunization coverage rate of 81 percent exceeds the rate for the U.S. as a whole --76 percent --, the rate for New York State -- 78 percent -- and immunization coverage levels for every large urban area in the nation except for Boston. It also exceeds the immunization rate for New York City of 78% reported in the 1994 NIS.
"New York City's leadership in children's vaccination is particularly notable because our city's large, mobile population, much of it located in densely concentrated areas, presents additional challenges to both health providers and parents to ensure that children receive their immunizations," Dr. Hamburg pointed out. "Continuing to increase our share of children who are immunized will further help reduce the incidence and spread of preventable diseases. Vaccinations are extremely safe and effective, and more parents are recognizing the value of taking their children to a doctor or clinic to be immunized. I want to acknowledge the support and participation of the Children's Defense Fund and the American Academy of Pediatrics in the immunization campaign."
Among the corporate sponsors of the Child Vaccination Program are Chase Manhattan, Con Ed, The Major League Baseball Players Association, Ronald McDonald's Children's Charities, Pathmark and the Association For A Better New York. The MTA and the New York City Transit Authority are also sponsors.
The CDC guidelines for 1997 recommend that children under two years of age should receive four doses of the combined vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, three doses of polio vaccine, and one dose of measles vaccine. The CDC develops federal guidelines for which immunizations should be administered to children and when the children should be vaccinated and provides much of the funding for vaccinations.
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