Don’t let the big tears and sad cries stop you, parents.
Children need early
vaccinations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta say
you save $21 for every
dollar you spend on the measles-mumps-pertussis vaccine.

Vaccines work. Yet many U.S. children are still at risk of
disease.

Being late with children’s shots led to the 1989-91 measles
epidemic, experts say. More
than 55,000 children got sick. Roughly 11,000 were hospitalized.
About 130 died.

A Georgia campaign, “A Immunize Georgia’s Little Guys,” has
helped greatly. In 1986, only 35 percent of Georgia babies under
one year old were immunized. By 1994, the figure had climbed to
83 percent.

A The 1996 goal of 90 percent is within our reach, said JoAnn
McCloud-Harrison, a University of Georgia Extension Service
nutrition education
coordinator.

Extension agents are working with the CDC, the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services and others. They remind parents of this vital
concern.

National Infant Immunization Week is April 21-27.

Gail Hanula, an Extension nutrition and health specialist,
said parents have a lot to
keep track of.

At two years old, all children should have had shots for 10
diseases: diphtheria,
tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B,
Haemophilus influenzae
type b and chicken pox. These require five visits to a
doctor or clinic.

Children who start getting their shots late are much less
likely to complete them on
time than other children.

Studies show that three-month-old children who haven’t had
any vaccines are far less
likely to complete the series as children who did.

A “Immunization is one of the best ways to prevent
disease,” Hanula
said. “Vaccine-preventable
disease levels have been reduced by more than 99 percent since
the vaccines came out.

“But no laws assure that children are up-to-date on
their shots by age two,” she said. “All 50 states
requireÿchildren to be
immunized before entering day care and school.”

“Immunize Georgia’s Little Guys “is part of the Georgia
Department of Human Resources State Immunization Program.

Hospitals, health groups, the Extension Service and others
are helping out. To learn
more, see your local health expert.