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Show IMMUNIZATIONS The data for Table 104 were obtained from a survey of public, private, and parochial schools, as well as licensed health care centers and Head Start programs. Schools are required to report immunization status of all enrolled children to the Utah Department of Health. * This information is then compiled into an estimate of the proportion of kindergarten-age children who are immunized. Although these figures have remained in the 90% range, they have shown a slight decrease since 1982. Utah Public and Private Kindergarten Immunization Survey Data Table 104 Percentage Year Immunized 1978 94.0 1979 94.6 1980 96.9 1981 96.9 1982 96.9 1983 93.4 1984 95.1 1985 94.3 1986 93.8 1987 93.0 1988 92.4 1989 93.3 1990 93.1 1991 92.1 1992 93.0 1993 93.9 1994 93.5 Starting in 1990, to be considered adequately immunized at two years of age a child's immunization record must show four doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP); three doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV); and one dose of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR).2 Starting in July 1992, children younger than five years old were required to receive adequate immunization for Haemophilus Influenza Type B. Hepatitis B shots are currently being recommended for newborns. Also starting in 1990, several changes were made in the Utah survey techniques employed and in the number of doses of DTP required in order for a child to be considered adequately immunized. This limits the extent to which meaningful comparisons can be made between 1991 to 1994 data and earlier years. An increased number of children attend preschool and day care facilities as more women move into the workplace. Yet, the percentage of children adequately immunized at 24 months of age dropped from 1984 and 1987 levels of nearly 60% to a 1991 level of 36.5%, a decrease of nearly 23%. This underscores the importance of adequately immunizing two-year-old children. Utah Percentage of Children Immunized at 24 Months of Age Table 105 Percentage Year Immunized 1984 59.2 1987 59.6 1991 36.5 1992 41.3 1993 46.5 1994 49.3 Since 1991, the rate has increased to a 3-year high of 49.3% in 1994, but this is still considerably low. This year in addition to the usual retrospective study done by the Bureau of Epidemiology, a current, real-time telephone survey was conducted by the Survey Research Center at the University of Utah that placed the percentage at 57.7%. Comparable data on the national level are very limited. Methods of assessment varied between the nation and Utah in the early 1980s, and national data are not available for 1986 through 1990. However, 1991 records indicate that approximately 37% of children aged 2 years and younger, and 94-96% of children in kindergarten through post-secondary educational institutions were properly immunized. 1 Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology. (1992, March). Epidemiology Newsletter. Salt Lake City: Author, p. 1. 2 Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology. (1990, Oct.). Communicable Disease Newsletter. Salt Lake City: Author, p. 1. 80 PUBLIC HEALTH |
