This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
Date: Monday, April 20, 1998 FACT SHEET Contact: CDC Press Office (404) 639-3286
The Department of Health and Human Services today kicked-off National Infant Immunization Week (April 19-25) in Miami, Florida by releasing two new public awareness campaigns. The PSA campaigns, one in English and one in Spanish, feature print, radio, and television public service announcements designed to reach parents and caregivers with the message that all children should receive a full course of recommended vaccinations by age two to protect against 10 vaccine preventable childhood diseases.
In 1994, President Clinton officially proclaimed the last week in April "National Infant Immunization Week" to focus attention on the importance of childhood immunization. This year's NIIW theme is "Don't Wait -- Vaccinate." Miami was selected because of the strong partnerships between public and private organizations and ongoing efforts to raise immunization rates.
The new efforts announced today build on the Clinton Administration's comprehensive Childhood Immunization Initiative, launched in 1993 in response to disturbing gaps in childhood immunization rates. Since 1993, the campaign has raised childhood immunization levels for the full series of recommended vaccinations to an all-time high of 78 percent, made significant progress toward eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in childhood immunization rates, and reduced rates of vaccine-preventable childhood disease to record lows. In addition, President Clinton announced in July 1997 that the nation had exceeded its childhood vaccination goals for 1996, with 90 percent or more of America's toddlers receiving the most critical doses of most of the routinely recommended vaccines for children by age 2. Also in 1996, reported levels of disease were at or near record lows and 3 diseases reached the elimination targets (tetanus under age 15, polio and mumps).
However, about one million children under age 2 still have not received all of their immunizations, and minority children still lag behind white children when overall vaccination rates are compared.
"The Clinton Administration has achieved remarkable success in raising childhood immunization rates, but too many children still are not fully immunized, putting them at risk for vaccine preventable diseases," said Secretary Shalala. "We must redouble our efforts to make sure every child is fully immunized by age two -- with a special emphasis on reaching minority children. Our new public awareness campaigns will help to spread this critical message."
"Just last week, CDC announced that in 1997, the United States recorded the lowest confirmed number of cases of measles since measles became a reportable disease in 1912. In addition, vaccination levels for the most critical childhood vaccinations are nearly the same for preschool children of all racial and ethnic groups, narrowing a gap that was estimated to be as wide as 26 percentage points a generation ago," said Dr. Walter Orenstein, Director of the National Immunization Program at the CDC. "This success is directly attributable to the Clinton Administration's Childhood Immunization Initiative."
While 79 percent of white children have received the full series of vaccinations by age 2, only 74 percent of African-American children and 71 percent of Hispanic children are fully vaccinated against childhood disease. To help close these gaps, President Clinton announced a plan as part of his Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Initiative to eliminate disparities in childhood immunization by 2010, including interim goals for immediate progress.
The 1998 Spanish-language PSAs were created for CDC by HMA Associates as part of a nationwide effort to create and distribute educational materials that are culturally relevant and language appropriate to help raise Hispanic immunization rates to the national average. The Spanish-language theme, "Vacudnelo A Tiempo...Todo el Tiempo" or "Vaccinate your children on time, every time," conveys the importance of immunizing children on time, every time, and encourages parents and caregivers to talk with their health care provider to make sure their child is up to date by the age of 2 years. The Spanish-language radio PSA is narrated by Luis, a character on "Sesame Street."
The 1998 English-language PSAs, developed for CDC by the Advertising Council, remind parents and caregivers that potentially life-threatening diseases do exist today and children are at risk because nearly one in four is not properly immunized. The PSAs encourage parents and caregivers to vaccinate before age two because the best way to protect children from serious illness is through timely immunization.
The public service announcements, which will be sent to more than 1,800 television stations, 8,000 radio stations and 15,000 print publications, carry toll-free numbers which provide information in both English (1-800-232-2522) and Spanish (1-800-232-0233).