Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 21, 1993 TAG: 9303210149
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
SHOTS FREE, BUT MANY CHILDREN NOT IMMUNIZED
In Virginia, any parent can walk into a local health department and get a child immunized for free. Yet only about 60 percent of the state's children have all their shots by age 2.Some local health clinics have reduced the hours they offer the shots because of budget cuts, but others still give the shots every weekday and are starting programs to encourage parents to bring in their children.
"Our responsibility is to give the parent the information to make that judgment. We'll keep hounding and sending that message, but the bottom line is that parent has to take that responsibility. We can only do so much," said Jim Farrell, director of the state's immunization program.
President Clinton wants to spend $300 million to immunize more children against such diseases as measles, mumps, whooping cough and polio. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that no more than 56 percent of children nationwide have all their shots by age 2.
Health officials give many reasons why Virginia's immunization rate remains low even though it is among about a dozen states that offer free shots regardless of income.
They say parents find health department hours inconvenient and the waits too long. Since the diseases that are prevented by vaccines are so rare, some parents fail to understand the importance of the shots.
"It's not as high a priority as it was probably a generation ago when people could remember family members getting sick," said Dr. Ardythe Morrow, an Eastern Virginia Medical School assistant professor directing an immunization effort in Hampton Roads.
Another problem is parents' failure to keep medical records. "Most of them don't keep an updated medical record on the child. Parents will lose it or not bring it," Farrell said.
Temple Clayton had to bring her 7-year-old daughter to the Richmond Health Department for shots even though the child was immunized in Philadelphia as a baby. Clayton lost her medical records when she moved, and school officials would not admit her daughter without new shots.
"Sometimes when you're a young parent it's hard to keep up with it," said Clayton. Still, she said, getting a child immunized is not difficult "if you're a parent who's concerned about your child's health."
A computerized tracking system for immunizations is in the works in the Peninsula Health District, which covers Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg and James City and York counties.
Data from birth certificates will be kept on computer, and parents will be notified when their baby is due for another shot, said Dr. Daniel C. Warren, health district director. Doctors also could check the computer to find out what shots a child has received. A similar tracking system has been proposed at the national level.