Issue Number
138
February 14,
2000
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- CDC publishes article on vaccination coverage among adolescents
in San Diego
- National Medical Association launches physician
education program, "Immunization: A Family Affair"
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(1)
February 11, 2000
CDC PUBLISHES ARTICLE ON VACCINATION COVERAGE AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN SAN DIEGO
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an article titled "Vaccination Coverage Among
Adolescents 1 Year Before the Institution of a Seventh Grade School Entry Vaccination Requirement -- San Diego,
California, 1998" in the February 11, 2000, issue of the MMWR. This report summarizes the findings from a San Diego
County Health Department survey, which indicate that most fifth and sixth graders lacked required and
recommended vaccinations.
The article begins: "In 1996, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the American Association of Family Physicians, and the American Medical Association
recommended routine health-care visits for children aged 11-12 years, emphasizing
vaccination with hepatitis B vaccine; measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR);
tetanus and diphtheria toxoids (Td); and varicella vaccine. Because no national data exist regarding
vaccination coverage among adolescents, the impact of these recommendations is unknown..."
The "Editorial Note" reads in part: "This is the first study that has assessed
population-based vaccination coverage of adolescents. The findings suggest that in
the absence of a school requirement, most adolescents lack documentation of recommended vaccinations. Reliable
estimates of vaccination coverage among adolescents are difficult to obtain... New
methods to accurately measure adolescent vaccination coverage are needed so that
coverage levels can be assessed reliably, the impact of vaccination programs for adolescents measured, and
overvaccination of adolescents resulting from incomplete documentation avoided.
"School vaccination requirements are an effective means of increasing vaccination coverage and preventing disease
among children and adolescents. Emphasis has been placed on hepatitis B vaccination
requirements because of the substantial disease burden of hepatitis B among adolescents
and young adults. Hepatitis B vaccination requirements for middle school entry have been implemented in 14 states and
the District of Columbia. In California, 477,584 seventh graders were subject to the 1999
seventh grade vaccination requirement of receipt of three doses of hepatitis B vaccine.
An estimated 20,059 hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections and 168 HBV-related chronic liver disease deaths expected during
the lifetime of this cohort may be averted if each seventh grader received the required three
doses of hepatitis B vaccine."
To obtain the full text version (HTML format) of this MMWR article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4905a4.htm
For more information about recommended immunizations for adolescents, see "Are you 11-19 years old? Then you need
to be vaccinated against these serious diseases!" from the Immunization Action Coalition.
For web text format (HTML), visit:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4020.htm
For a camera-ready copy (PDF format), visit:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/11teens8.pdf
HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MMWR
To obtain a free electronic subscription to the "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report" (MMWR), visit CDC's MMWR website listed below. Select "Free MMWR Subscription" from
the menu at the left of the screen. Once you have submitted the required information, weekly issues of the MMWR and all
new ACIP statements (published as MMWR's "Recommendations and Reports") will automatically arrive in your e-mail box.
To go to the MMWR website, visit: http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr
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February 14, 2000
NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES PHYSICIAN EDUCATION PROGRAM, "IMMUNIZATION: A FAMILY AFFAIR"
The National Medical Association (NMA) has been awarded an educational grant from the Health Care Financing
Administration to provide adult immunization education and information to providers and address key
immunization issues among African Americans and other underserved populations. The first educational program will be held in
Houston, Texas, on February 17, 2000. A total of eleven adult immunization symposia will be held
throughout the United States in 2000. NMA is a professional association that
represents the interests of 25,000 Black physicians in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean.
For more information on registration for the February 17th meeting or for future meetings, contact Yvonne Fuller,
Director, Maternal and Child Health Division at NMA at (202) 347-1895, ext. 263 or ext. 264.
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