Immunization Screening and Referral in WIC
Immunizing
children against certain diseases is one important way to help
them stay healthy. WIC’s
mission is to be a partner with other services that are key to
childhood and family well-being, such as immunization. As an adjunct to services that provide immunizations, the
WIC Program’s role is to find out about a child’s need for
immunizations and share that information with parents, including
where to get a child immunized.
Because immunization
rates of low-income children continue to lag behind those of more
affluent children, a White House Executive Memorandum was issued
in December 2000 directing WIC to screen the immunization records
of all infants and children under the age of two at WIC
certification visits. Parents
are encouraged to bring their infant/child’s immunization record
to WIC appointments so that WIC staff can review the record as
part of the WIC certification process. WIC provides a referral to immunization services, ideally
to the child’s usual source of medical care.
Immunization
records and/or an infant/child’s immunization status are in no
way tied to the receipt of WIC benefits.
For information on WIC’s role in immunization
promotion, contact your State
WIC agency.
Visit
the American Academy of Pediatrics website at http://www.aap.org/family/parents/immunize.htm,
to see the latest immunization recommendations and schedule.
For
information regarding childhood immunizations, call the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at:
The
CDC immunization hotline at
1-800-232-2522 (English)
1-800-232-0233 (Spanish)
Or
visit CDC’s National Immunization Program website at
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/
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