The Blog

Mary Selecky, Secretary of Health

09/05/08

Childhood immunizations are the best way to prevent many diseases, some of which have no cure or treatment. After several years of gains, childhood immunization rates in our state have dipped slightly, according to the latest national survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This concerns the health community because it may mean more children are at risk of getting sick from potentially serious diseases.

We saw outbreaks of measles, chickenpox, and whooping cough in our state this year. These are serious diseases, and we must treat them that way. These outbreaks remind us of the importance of making sure kids are fully immunized. Many of the illnesses this year were in kids who weren’t vaccinated.

We’ve made good progress in the past five years, but we have more to do to protect children. We take this work very seriously.

Parents can find what vaccinations their kids need to get and when by going to our Web site.