Pressroom
Resistance to Vaccines, Lack of Health Insurance Contribute to N.J.'s Low Immunization Rate
Source: New Jersey Star-Ledger (NJ)
By: Livio, Susan K.
08/22/2010
Although it is one of the most affluent states in the nation, New Jersey has one of the lowest immunization rates for babies and toddlers, ranking 42nd in a recent survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New Jersey’s vaccination rate for infants and toddlers is now at 64 percent for the recommended vaccines against polio, hepatitis B, mumps, measles, rubella and other diseases, below the national average of nearly 71 percent, and the lowest in the Northeast. Although public health professionals and pediatricians are not sure why the vaccination rate has slipped, they have seen it building for several years. Many people in low-income and immigrant communities do not have health insurance or transportation to the doctor’s office, and they may not understand the complicated vaccination schedule, which includes 28 shots recommended by the age of two-and-a-half years. Last year, state physicians and public health officials formed the New Jersey Immunization Network to improve the state’s vaccination rates and prevent a comeback of serious diseases like whooping cough and measles. Families who want to vaccinate, but who are confused by complicated schedule or getting to a doctor can receive help from the Immunization Network. State law allows parents to delay vaccines for their babies and toddlers unless the children attend day care. Mandates do not apply until children are school age, and even then religious exemptions are permitted. Some parents are asking pediatricians to adjust the vaccine schedule to further space the number of shots, but Deputy Health Commissioner Susan Walsh said parents should not take these steps. “People who are vaccinated help form a circle of protection around babies and individuals with health conditions who can’t be fully immunized,” she said. In the 2005-2006 school year, 452 students skipped vaccines because their parents cited religious reasons, state health spokeswoman Donna Leusner said, but in the most recent school year, 3,865 children were granted religious exemptions.
