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PRESIDENT CLINTON LAUNCHES NEW EFFORT TO INCREASE IMMUNIZATION RATES
AMONG CHILDREN NATIONWIDE
Builds Upon Unprecedented Progress to Target Children at High Risk
December 11, 2000
Today, President Clinton, joined by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter,
will take strong new action to increase immunization rates among
children nationwide. In an effort to build on the Clinton-Gore
Administration's unprecedented progress in improving immunization rates,
the President will issue an executive memorandum directing the
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assess the immunization status of
the five million children under the age of five participating in the
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and refer them to a health
care provider when appropriate. This memorandum will also direct USDA
and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a
national strategic plan to ensure more accurate and cost-effective
immunization assessment, referral, and follow-up for children at risk.
In addition, President Clinton will announce that the American Academy
of Pediatrics will instruct its 55,000 members to emphasize the
importance of timely immunizations to their WIC-eligible patients and
encourage them to take their records with them when they visit the WIC
clinic so that WIC staff can assess their immunization needs.
CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION RATES ARE AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH, BUT MORE NEEDS TO
BE DONE. Under the leadership of the Clinton-Gore Administration,
childhood immunization rates have reached all-time highs, with 90
percent or more of America's toddlers receiving the most critical
vaccines by age two. Vaccination levels are nearly the same for
preschool children of all racial and ethnic groups, narrowing a gap
estimated to be as wide as 26 percentage points a generation ago.
Despite these impressive gains, however, immunization levels in many
parts of the country are still too low.
Immunization rates for low-income, minority children are
consistently lower than the national average. According to the CDC,
low-income, minority children are less likely to be immunized than their
counterparts. In fact, immunization rates in certain inner-city areas
are at or below 65 percent, placing children at high risk for
potentially deadly diseases such as diphtheria, poliomyelitis, measles,
mumps, and rubella. These diseases are associated with birth defects,
paralysis, brain damage, hearing loss, and liver cancer. In some of
these urban areas, immunization rates are 20 percent below the national
average.
Areas with lower-than-average immunization rates are at increased
risk of potentially deadly disease outbreaks. Nationwide, there are a
number of inner-city areas where childhood immunization rates remain
significantly below the national average. These "pockets of need,"
which are home to traditionally underserved populations, are at high
risk for disease outbreaks such as the measles epidemic of 1989.
Many under-immunized children are served by the WIC program. State
data indicate that in 41 states, the immunization rates for children
enrolled in WIC are lower than the rates for other children in their age
group -- in some cases, by as much as 20 percent. The WIC program, which
serves 45 percent of infants nationwide and more than five million
children under the age of five, is the single largest point of access to
health services for low-income preschool children who are at the highest
risk for low vaccination coverage.
PRESIDENT CLINTON TAKES STRONG NEW ACTION TO IMPROVE CHILDHOOD
IMMUNIZATION RATES. Today, President Clinton will issue an executive
memorandum that:
Directs the WIC program to conduct an immunization assessment on
every child applying for services. WIC, run by USDA, provides access to
food stamps, dairy and other food products, and nutritional counseling
to low-income women, infants and children. Together with CDC, the WIC
program will develop a standardized procedure to include in the WIC
certification process in order to evaluate the immunization status of
every child applying for WIC services using a documented immunization
history. Children who are determined to be behind schedule on their
immunizations, or who do not have their immunization record, will be
referred to a local health care provider or public health clinic as
appropriate. Children who are uninsured receive vaccinations at no cost
under the Vaccines for Children program. Studies indicate that linking
immunization services with WIC improves vaccination coverage by up to 40
percent within 12 months.
Ensures that WIC staff are able to conduct immunization assessments
accurately and efficiently. The CDC will develop user-friendly
immunization materials designed to ensure that information on
appropriate immunization schedules is easily accessible and
understandable for WIC staff conducting nutritional risk assessments.
WIC staff should be trained to use these materials by state and local
public health authorities.
Develops a blueprint for future action to improve the immunization
rates of children at risk. The President will direct HHS and USDA to
develop a national strategic plan to improve the immunization rates of
children at risk, to be completed within 60 days. The plan should
include steps to:
Expand the availability of automated systems or computer software
to provide WIC clinics with information on appropriate childhood
immunization schedules, with the eventual goal of providing this service
in every WIC clinic nationwide;
Disseminate a range of best practices for increasing immunization
rates for low-income children to WIC state and local agencies;
Include information on the importance of immunizations and
appropriate immunization schedules in standard WIC efforts to educate
families about breastfeeding, anemia, lead poisoning, and other
health-related topics.
Evaluate the role other Federal programs serving children can play
in increasing immunization rates. The strategic plan will also evaluate
whether other Federal programs serving children should require a
standard question on immunizations as part of their enrollment
processes, and if appropriate, develop a plan for implementing new
requirements.
PRESIDENT CLINTON PRAISES THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS' NEW ACTION
TO IMPROVE IMMUNIZATION RATES. Today, the American Academy of
Pediatrics will advise its 55,000 members to remind their WIC-eligible
patients of the importance of timely immunizations and asking these
patients to bring their immunization records with them when they visit
the WIC clinic. Providing complete and documented immunization
histories to WIC providers ensures that staff can efficiently and
accurately evaluate a child's immunization status and refer them to a
health care provider if appropriate.
BUILDS ON THE CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION'S LONGSTANDING COMMITMENT TO
IMPROVING CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION RATES. In 1992, fewer than 55 percent
of children under the age of three had received the full course of
vaccinations. In order to address the dangerously low level of
immunizations nationwide, President Clinton launched the Childhood
Immunization Initiative, which helped make vaccines affordable for
families through the Vaccines for Children Program, eliminated barriers
preventing children from being immunized by their primary care provider,
and improved immunization outreach. As a result, childhood immunization
rates have reached all-time highs, with 90 percent or more of America's
toddlers receiving the most critical vaccines by age two. Vaccination
levels are nearly the same for preschool children of all racial and
ethnic groups, narrowing a gap estimated to be as wide as 26 percentage
points a generation ago. In addition, the Clinton-Gore Administration
recently took action to provide enhanced federal funding for those
states wishing to develop immunization registries. During the
Clinton-Gore Administration, funding for childhood immunization efforts
has more than doubled since 1993.