Part of this success can be attributed to the fact that federal funding for vaccinations has doubled since 1993 when the Clinton Administration launched a proposal to ensure that a higher percentage of toddlers receive their vaccinations. Despite our recent success, even in Virginia, where all children are eligible for free vaccinations available at public health clinics, nearly 22 percent of preschool children are not properly immunized. With the school year beginning throughout Southwest Virginia, I strongly urge all parents of school age children to ensure that their sons and daughters are immunized against preventable diseases.
Vaccinations occur in our region without cost to parents.
Immunizations represent one of the most cost-effective means of disease prevention available, but children must first be vaccinated early in order to benefit. Children are most vulnerable to disease before they reach their second birthday, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that 80 percent of all vaccine doses should be received before the child reaches age two. In addition to early childhood vaccinations, a greater effort must be made to ensure that adolescents are protected from immunizable infectious diseases. This lack of adolescent immunizations has resulted in outbreaks of measles and chickenpox. Measles has shifted from predominately being a disease of young children, to a disease of adolescents and young adults.