Immunization rates finally improving in Texas
September 8, 2008
Texas doesn't compare well with other states in every category, but it's doing a lot better in an important one. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that immunization rates for Texas children increased 19 percent in the past five years, reaching a record high in 2007. The Texas rate was 77.4 percent for that year - 22nd in the country.
Written by Editorial, The Beaumont Enterprise
Texas doesn't compare well with other states in every category, but it's doing a lot better in an important one. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that immunization rates for Texas children increased 19 percent in the past five years, reaching a record high in 2007. The Texas rate was 77.4 percent for that year - 22nd in the country.
It's an impressive achievement. Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, gives credit to state and local partners working better with families.
That momentum must be continued.
Some parents overlook this responsibility to their children. They don't think it's important. Others have religious or cultural objections. Some mistakenly believe that immunizations are dangerous.
Health care providers and public officials must keep working with those parents to overcome their doubts and get their children immunized. Kids face enough challenges as it is. None should ever get sick or die because they weren't protected from a preventable disease.
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