It marked the greatest number of measles cases reported in the U.S. In 2019, the CDC confirmed 1,274 individual cases of the highly contagious measles in 31 states. It was the first case in the country in a decade. Last year, New York state officials identified a case of polio in an unvaccinated young adult who became paralyzed. Department of Health and Human Services, called childhood vaccinations “one of the biggest advances we’ve had in public health.” Zack Moore, state epidemiologist and the epidemiology section chief in the Division of Public Health of the N.C. In the early to mid-20th century, childhood illnesses such as polio and the measles were common, but vaccines have all but eradicated these infectious diseases. Last year, nearly 12 percent of high school students had not been fully vaccinated within the first month of school, state data show. If students don’t have the required vaccinations, they won’t be allowed at school. North Carolina requires all children - with some exceptions - to be vaccinated before attending child care or school, whether public or private. “When we drop below 95 percent in a community, then that can be a problem,” he said. That 95 percent mark is the threshold that experts say is needed to keep infectious diseases at bay. While North Carolina’s child vaccination rates are better than the national average, it’s important to keep inoculation rates above 95 percent, according to Brian Bowman, a pediatrician with Apex Pediatrics in Apex. Most public schools resume classes this week. “We have so much research that vaccines prevent diseases, and we all want kids to be healthy and thrive,” said Elizabeth Hudgins, executive director of the North Carolina Pediatric Society.Īs children head back to classrooms for the 2023-24 academic year, pediatricians, schools and health departments are working to get kids up to date on required vaccinations. Staff came up with a logo featuring children as superheroes and the phrase “A Shield of Protection.” Credit: Courtesy of Buncombe County Health and Human ServicesĪlthough the videos were part of a vaccination campaign from several years ago, the message is still relevant. “Diseases can get in and then cause devastation in those people who don’t have the vaccine.” Buncombe County’s health department came up with an immunization campaign several years ago to tackle the high rate of unvaccinated children. “If enough people are unvaccinated, it allows holes in that shield,” Mullendore said in that video. “These vaccine preventable diseases still exist in our community,” Mullendore said in one of the county health department’s videos that encourage residents to get their children vaccinated as part of the “A Shield of Protection for Your Child’s Health” campaign. The county has seen outbreaks in recent years of preventable diseases such as chickenpox. The videos feature Jennifer Mullendore, medical director for Buncombe County, where a large number of children are not fully immunized. could learn from them.Ī series of child cartoon characters dressed in superhero outfits introduce topics such as the importance of child vaccinations in a series of health department videos.
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