Childhood vaccines protect kids
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teens from diseases d
like measles,
Childhood Childhood and and ad
adolescent vaccination is considered by
many to be one of the greatest public health accomplishments
of the 20th century, but based on the results of a new study by
the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), there is still
more work to do to ensure children and teens are protected
against the diseases vaccines were developed to eradicate.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield: Health of America Report
shows childhood vaccination rates climbed 12 percent among
-
cent of young BCBS members born in 2010 were up-to-date
on their CDC-recommended vaccinations by the age of 2
The study also found that the rate of documented vaccine
refusal - in other words, doctors charting parental refusal of
vaccines for their children - went up by nearly 70 percent for
-
The result of vaccine refusal can be dangerous, not only
for the child who is vulnerable to diseases like measles and
diphtheria, but for the community at large.
It played itself out in Minnesota last year, when a measles
outbreak in the Twin Cities exceeded the total number of cas-
didn’t have to look far for the cause. Spread of the highly infectious
disease started in the state’s Somali-American community.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the
vaccination rate among Somali-American children dropped
from the high 80s to a low of 42 percent last year in response
to the anti-vaccine movement’s targeting efforts, fueling the
-
munity. It spread throughout the Minnesota public school
system as well, infecting non-vaccinated children.
The disease is nothing to take lightly. At the low end, it
causes fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat and a rash, but it
can be deadly, spawning pneumonia, blindness and even encephalitis.
One especially alarming complication lurks in the
brain for years after a person has recovered and mysteriously
reawakens, causing seizures, coma and death. No one who
has contracted that complication has survived.
It’s not just childhood vaccines that parents are refusing.
According to the BCBSA report, only 29 percent of ad-
The HPV vaccine rates lag far behind other adolescent
vaccines, meningococcal and Tdap, which have rates of 72
The key to protecting children and teens from diseases like measles,
rubella and HPV is vaccination
percent and 82 percent, respectively.
And that’s a problem. According to estimates from the
every year from cancers caused by HPV.
It’s a heartbreaking statistic, especially because the American
Cancer Institute estimates that, if all teens were vaccinated
against HPV, cervical cancer would be eliminated within
one generation.
What parents can do
The key to protecting children and teens from diseases
like measles, rubella and HPV is vaccination, according to the
CDC.
of vaccination, if you have any doubt.
Vaccinate your children according to the CDC-recommended
Seven-Vaccine series: Diphtheria, Tetanus and Per-
B) Polio (IPV), and Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR).
Vaccinate your adolescent against HPV, Meningitis and
DTaP.
For more information, or to download the Health of
America report, visit www.bcbs.com/healthofamerica. (BPT)
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