Immunization U.S and Mexico

I chose to research immunizations because immunizing children is such a hot topic in the United States. As educators we are all aware of the idea that certain childhood immunizations cause Autism. With the increase of Autism diagnoses, is this theory true, or is it just a coincidence?

I was curious about the immunization rates in the U.S.

U.S. statistics:

• in the US there are about 22 recommended vaccines from Birth - 18 years
• 17 vaccinations occur between birth and 18 months
•  in 2001 62.8% of US children 19-35 months were fully immunized
• 3 out of 1000 children had never received any vaccinations
•  unvaccinated children were more likely to be non-Hispanic white , have a mother who was older, married, and who had a college degree, and living in a household with an annual income of at least $75,000
•  undervaccinated (did not receive all recommended vaccines) were more likely to be black and often had young, unmarried mothers, and from a low socio-economic household
• 48% of the unvaccinated parents stated that they had a concern about vaccine safety
•  California, Illinois, New York, Washington, Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah and Michigan are the states that have the most unvaccinated children.
• Between the years 1995-2000 the number of unvaccinated children in the US increased

Mexico statistics:

• In Mexico there are 16 recommended vaccines from Birth -18 years
• 7 vaccinations occur between birth and 18 months
• 96% of Mexican children birth - 4 years are vaccinated
• if parents are late getting children vaccinated, a public health nurse will come to their house and vaccinate the children
• the government divides its poor neighborhoods into sections of about four square blocks each, then puts a nurse in charge of supervising parents in each area to ensure all of the children are vaccinated on time
• a nurse in charge of immunizations in a particular neighborhood keeps a census of the area, including maps detailing where women of child-bearing age live
•  children also receive a government-issued National Vaccination Record, on which the vaccines they receive throughout their lives will be tallied. The vaccine record must be presented in order to enter school, to get passports or other identification papers and even to get some jobs and loans

It seems that Mexico is taking vaccinations seriously.  Even though they do not have as much money and or resources as the US, they are still able to vaccinate many children. It is great to see the country being aware of the low socio-economic population and creating resources to make sure that population is taken care of.








http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/811040/posts

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/downloads/child/binational-schedule-pr.pdf

http://www.immunizationinfo.org/science/demographics-unvaccinated-children