More kids getting their shots

Art Nadler

Friday, July 23, 1999 | 9:22 a.m.

Clark County's childhood immunization program is reaching more youngsters than a year ago, but there is still room for improvement, the Health District was told Thursday.

Alice Costello, immunization supervisor with the district, said Clark County is presently immunizing 74 percent of children between the ages of 19 to 35 months. Nationwide, she said Nevada ranks 33rd in its immunization program, up from 46th a year ago.

Immunization nurses will be at 22 Vons grocery stores next month and the four major shopping malls immunizing children who will be attending school, Costello said. The district recently succeeded in vaccinating children in 70 of the 139 child care facilities throughout the county.

Since the district's Hepatitis A immunization program began in March, Costello said 11,000 children have also been immunized. The Centers for Disease Control has ranked Nevada as one of 11 states with hepatitis rates that exceed the national average of 20 cases per 100,000 people.

But while the state exceeds the national average, Costello said Nevada is the only state that has implemented a program to target children between 2 and 5 years old.

Costello attributed Nevada's low immunization rates and high Hepatitis A cases to Clark County's tremendous growth. The district, she said, is struggling to keep up with the immunization demands.

Also, she said, many young parents moving into the county aren't proactive in getting their children vaccinated. They either think the health district is for only poor families, or they aren't aware of the diseases, she said.

"We have the vaccines, and we have tremendous programs," Costello said. "It's educating the public about the importance of vaccinating."