...those who refuse to get their kids immunized will face criminal sanctions

[Guest guest]

HEALTH CARE

A Final Back-to-School Task: Immunizations

Dozens of Children Get Free Shots in Program Sponsored by City and

Hospital

By Yolanda Woodlee

Washington Post Staff Writer

Sunday, August 27, 2006; Page C11

Tyler was relieved when she saw on television that she could

get free immunizations for her 3-year-old granddaughter Kapriah

White, whom she wants to enroll in preschool.

" If I didn't know about this today, I don't know what I would have

done, " said Tyler, who unexpectedly became Kapriah's caretaker in

May. She also has taken care of the little girl's 7-year-old sister,

Kaprise, since December. " They kept saying the shots are a must for

them to get back in school. I didn't have the money and no benefits. "

Murray, 10, watches as his sister Deiza, 9, receives a shot

from Edna Hamilton on Thursday at an express clinic in downtown

Washington. --

Kapriah was one of 142 children who were vaccinated yesterday at the

It's Wise to Immunize Family Fun Day at a recently built community

center in Southeast Washington. An additional 144, including her

sister, were told that they did not need shots. Instead of leaving

with Band-Aids and tears, they took home new backpacks filled with

books, crayons and markers.

The program, in its 13th year, was sponsored by the D.C. Department

of Health and the Children's National Medical Center. The children

were given vaccinations against diseases such as chickenpox,

hepatitis B, polio, measles, mumps and whooping cough.

The immunizations are required by law before enrolling children in

D.C. public schools, where classes start tomorrow. Children who do

not have up-to-date immunizations will not be allowed to attend.

D.C. Attorney General J. Spagnoletti said last week that

parents and guardians who do not get their children enrolled in

school and immunized can be prosecuted. Last school year, the

attorney general's office filed charges against 67 parents who

failed to have their children immunized.

" The goal is to make sure kids get off to a healthy start for the

new school year, " Spagnoletti said. " But those who refuse to get

their kids immunized will face criminal sanctions. "

Mark Weissman, medical director of the Children's National Health

Network, said the number of children getting vaccinations at the

last minute has been dropping. The District is ahead of land and

Virginia in tracking immunization records because of a new registry

that collects data on children's shots.

Weissman said that only 40 percent of the District's 60,000 school-

age children had complete immunization records in 2001 but by last

year the figure had risen to 97 percent. He credits a school nurses

program, which is managed by Children's Hospital, for improving the

rate by monitoring children's vaccinations.

" That's a huge public health success, " Weissman said. " That's

stunning. "

D.C. Council member A. Catania (I-At Large), chairman of the

council's Health Committee, stopped by the makeshift immunization

clinic and touted the city's preschool immunization program. A pink-

and-beige-striped truck with a picture of a smiling teddy bear sat

in the parking lot of the community center, called THEARC.

Mr. Bear's Express, the result of an initiative pushed by Catania,

visits day-care centers, Head Start programs and churches to connect

children younger than 4 to health care.

The city helped launch the health-care truck, which was unveiled in

May, with $500,000 to equip and operate it. Catania said $300,000 is

in the budget for next fiscal year to maintain the truck.

" It's not a perfect solution, but it's a good first step, " Catania

said as families stood in line to get their children

vaccinated. " For these kids, there was no place for them to go

before. "

For parents who missed yesterday's event, free immunizations are

still available. A hotline in which a registered nurse can answer

questions is at 202-884-5387.