Falling US immunization rates seen as threatening defenses against childhood diseases.
USA Today (1/6, Szabo) reported that "experts worry that" outbreaks such as a Hib outbreak in Minnesota, "mumps outbreaks on the East Coast and more than two dozen measles outbreaks around the country in 2008 - represent cracks in the country's protection against terrifying childhood diseases that were once virtually eradicated." USA Today pointed to a growing "number of children exempted from school immunization requirements," with "exemption rates...alarmingly higher in pockets of the country." In Washington state's Ferry County, for example, "27% of children have a non-medical exemption from school vaccine requirements. These are the types of communities where imported diseases take hold and spread," according to the CDC's Lance Rodewald.
Immunization disparities easing in US. Reuters (1/6) reported on a CDC study that found a drop in immunization disparities among socioeconomic groups. According to CDC epidemiologist Dr. Elizabeth T. Luman, the drop is in part due to the Vaccines for Children program, which gives free immunizations to uninsured children. Dr. Luman said the findings are "very good news," but "we're still not there yet."
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