| Unfortunately, certain populations have not had as much success with increasing immunization rates. For instance, in a study conducted in low-income areas of Los Angeles, only 53 percent and 70 percent of African American and Latino children, respectively, were up-to-date on their immunizations at 3 months of age (Wood et al., 1995). The rate decreased to 42 percent for Latino children and 26 percent for African American children at 24 months. Though the reasons for the lower rates were not conclusive, there are obviously barriers that must be overcome. For instance, there may be an unintentional bias to detect low rates, and subsequently try to increase those rates, in Caucasian American and higher income neighborhoods. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Immunization Finance Policies and Practice (Institute of Medicine, 2000) states that the current methods for tracking immunization rates through private insurers and providers excludes certain high-risk populations, such as children on Medicaid. The report concludes that non-detection of low vaccination coverage in distinct pockets may provide a “reservoir” for disease outbreaks. Therefore, the IOM committee recommends an increase in public and private spending of $1.5 billion over the next five years to fund an effective immunization tracking system. |
