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Show Many Utah children no adequately immunized More than 5,000 children (20 percent) who entered Utah Kindergartens this fall were not adequately protected protect-ed against preventable childhood child-hood diseases such as polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles and rubella, a Utah Department of Social Services official said. According to Dr. Taira Fu-kushima, Fu-kushima, Division of Health Disease Control Branch, the number of children without evidence of adequate immunizations immuni-zations in 1977 is slightly less than a year ago, when 7,000 youngsters were not fully protected. "These unprotected children child-ren add to an already large number of unprotected children child-ren in Utah schools. The presence pre-sence of so many poorly immunized im-munized children makes the possibility of disease outbreaks out-breaks of these preventable diseases more likely," Dr. Fukushima noted. Utah law, he continued, requires that parents provide to the schools evidence of adequate immunizations or proper exemptions for their children prior to entrance to a preschool, day care center, kindergarten or elementary school. "Many parents by not complying with this important regulation are leaving their children needlessly unprotected unprotect-ed against serious disease," he st ressed. "Parents are urged to cooperate coop-erate with their local health department and school n immunizing their children and providing acceptable evidence of immunization." Dr. Fukushima noted that Utah has set a goal of increasing increas-ing the immunization of children child-ren to 90 percent within the year. "Hut we won't be able to reach that goal unless parents are concerned enough about the well being of their children child-ren to get their immunizations up to date." The study showed that in seven school districts, all immunization im-munization cards were completed com-pleted for all kindergarten students. Hut only Daggett and Tiute School Districts had all Kindergarten children immunized im-munized against all preventable prevent-able childhood disease. In seven school districts, less than 10 percent of the children were not adequately immunized. Those districts include: Weber, 4.1 percent; Morgan, 8.9 percent; Summit, 7.2 percent; South Sanpete, 4.9 percent; Wayne, 4.9 percent per-cent ; Hrnver, 9.2 percent; Kane (i.3 percent. In seven school districts, more than 30 percent of kindergarten students were not properly protected a gainst preventable childhood diseases. They include: Salt Lake, 34.1 percent; Alpine, 33 percent; Provo, 30.8 percent; Juab-Tintic, 33.7 percent; Carbon, 35.5 percent; Grand, 39.7 percent; San Juan, 30.7 percent. Other school district records re-cords include: Box Elder, 17 percent; Cache, 11.8 percent; Logan, 23.7 percent; Ogden City, 16 percent; Rich, 0 percent; Davis, 11.9 percent; Granite, 21.5 percent; Murray, Mur-ray, 18.8 percent; Jordan, 16.5 percent; Tooele, 12.1 percent; . Park City, 15.2 percent; Wasatch, Wa-satch, 20 percent. Others include: Duchesne, i 12.6 percent; Daggett, 0 percent; per-cent; Uintah, 14.3 percent; , Nebo, 18 percent; North Sanpete, San-pete, 20.6 percent; Millard, 12.1 percent; Iron, 21.3 percent; per-cent; Washington, 16.2 percent: per-cent: Emery. 20.7 percent: Private and Parachial, 23.2 percent. He urged parents to check the status of all their children including preschoolers and teenagers. "Immunizations needed should be obtained immediately. By age two, to be adequately immunized, a child should have received 4 diphteria- tetanus- whooping cough (DTP) shots, 3 polio doses, measles, and rubella immunizations. Mumps im-' munization is strongly rt,-' mended," he explained. ' In Utah immunization easily available from fc doctors, pediatricians am j al health department cli |