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Show THE SAN JUAN RECORD Wednesday April 7, 1993 - Page 8 Vaccinations: Not just an issue in the USA The worlds richest country, the United States, lags behind the worlds poorest countries in an effort to immunize all children under age two. Its a paradox born out of the nearly total immunization of American kindergachildren in the rten-age 1970s. The paradox is that we ended up so successful that many developing countries have higher vaccination levels than we do, says Dr. William H. today Foege, executive director of the task force for child sur- vival and development at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta. When global vaccination began in 1974, barely five percent of two year olds in poor countries were being vaccinated against child- By 1991 the risen to 80. hood diseases. percentage had Leaders of the United Nations immunization program are now eyeing a goal of 90 percent by 2000. In contrast, an average of only about 50 percent of two American inner-cit- y five year olds are fully vac- cinated. But immunization of younger children in the United States is required only by nursery schools and licensed day care centers. No other law requires immunization of preschool he February and Dr. CDC Dowdle, deputy director, say that the be- ginning this summer, to immunize one million more American infants and children. In his address to Congress Feb. 17, Clinton said that we know now that we will save $10 later for every $1 we spend by eliminating preventable childhood dis- eases. Thats a good investment no matter how you measure it. Dr. Robert Kim-Farle- y, Health children to be completely immunized before they enMore ter kindergarten. of American 99 than percent Foege R. proposed spending $300 million, year olds is about 70 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control the United States require Both Walter the age of two, Foege tells If National Geographic. you cant deliver immunization to your kids, what can you do right? President Clinton wants the nation to do better. In the American physician who directs the World children received all their recommended immunizations by age two in 1991. That compared with 89 percent of children under one in Algeria, 77 percent in Uganda, 76 percent in El Salvador and 70 percent in Mexico. The gap lies between ages two and five. State laws in icas. vaccinated, Dowdle says. Thats sort of been the reason why we havent been able to eliminate measles in this country. First, he says, Weve got to find out if we can make access more available and continued on next page children. You cant stop all transmissions unless you get the injections in children by years olds are vaccinated, and the national rate for two (CDC). In New York City, only about 40 percent of preschool is on the verge of eliminating polio from the Amer- Clinton proposal may have to go furtheito achieve its goals. A new system is needed to keep track of youngsters between two and five, says Foege. One has to motivate some of the mothers in the inner-cit- y to get their children Organizations (WHO) Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), agrees. He calls his effort to prevent childhood diseases an incredible bargain at about $1.5 billion a year. little-heralde- d Geneva-base- EPI d oping countries against six that cause an enormous amount of illness and death among Third World youngsters under age five: measles, diphthe- ria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, polio and tuberculosis. A similar program The Business Owners of Monticello THANK Dr. Warren for his eight years of selfless dedication to the health care needs of our area. im- munizes children in devel- diseases Public health nurse Iris Vazquez innoculates a baby at a free clinic in Arlington, VA. The clinic is part of a federal-stat- e effort to vaccinate all children before two. Only 70 of U.S. children National Geographic Photo have been immunized, fewer than in Third World countries. eradi- cated smallpox in 1980 and April $AVING$ at BIG A AUTO PARTS We admire him for his tenacity in staying here under tremendous work loads, at times being the only physician on medical staff at San Juan Hospital. We appreciate his devotion to his patients and the way he makes each patient feel so important. Circuit Tester 17-83- 01 We wish him the best in his ' Designed for troubleshooting DC primary circuits on all 6 and 1 2 V systems. Use for vehicles circuits like head-light- s, horn, directional lights & tail lights. General Motors 18-90- Ford 01 CODE SCANNER Both are easy to use, 18-901- 5 CODE SCANNER oriented engine trouble-cod- e reader. Complete with instruction manual. D-Y- -l Schafer Tire & Big A Auto Parts 533 E Central Monticello 587-263- 1 endeavors, knowing that - all things being equal - individuals will choose their physician based on the quality of care they receive and how much they perceive the physician cares about them. ANK YOU |