Families have shot at low-cost vaccinations

By Emily Richmond

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.

Clark County health professionals are urging parents to take advantage of a series of low-cost immunization clinics, sponsored as part of a statewide campaign to improve Nevada's vaccination rate for infants and children.

Nevada's infant immunization rate is at 78 percent, up from 35 percent in 1991, according to the Nevada State Health Division. State officials want to raise the rate to 90 percent by 2010, as recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Clark County's infant immunization rate hovers at just over 40 percent, said Veronica Morata-Nichols, immunization supervisor for the county Health District. But that figure may be artificially low because it doesn't include infants receiving vaccinations from private physicians, Morata-Nichols said.

A statewide immunization registry for all health care providers is in the works and would provide more accurate statistics, Morata-Nichols said.

Under such a system, "if parents take their kids to private providers, we'll know about it," she said.

The county's immunization rate improves as children get closer to school-age, Morata-Nichols said. For children ages 19 to 36 months, the immunization rate is 85 percent, she said.

"Parents know before their kids can go to kindergarten or first grade there are shots that are mandated," Morata-Nichols said. "What we have to do is get the younger children on the regular schedule of vaccinations."

The United Way of Southern Nevada and Clinic on Wheels have partnered to help with the immunization campaign, dispatching the mobile black-and-white "COW" bus to deliver health care to school sites. By June 3, the bus is expected to have visited 28 at-risk schools and delivered more than 3,000 immunizations to children.

Dr. Teresita Lu Melocoton, a pediatrician at Valley Pediatric & Speciality Center in Las Vegas, said there are many reasons why parents may not be getting their children immunized.

"Sometimes it's availability or cost, sometimes it's convenience and sometimes the parents just don't realize the importance of getting immunizations up to date," said Melocoton, whose office is participating in next week's low-cost clinics sponsored by the Health District. "The benefits of immunizations have been proven. The bottom line is keeping kids healthy all along."

Because of immunizations, diseases such as whooping cough and mumps have been rare, rather than routine, childhood illnesses, Melocoton said.

Denise Brodsky, a member of the Clark County School Board and manager of community development for the United Way of Southern Nevada, said programs like COW and the Health District's clinics are a necessary component to making sure children come to school healthy.

"The school district relies on our partners in the community to provide these types of direct services for families who may not otherwise have access to health care," Brodsky said. "When we can make it easy for parents by having a clinic right at the school, that's invaluable."

To mark Nevada Infant Immunization Week, the Clark County Health District will sponsor low-cost clinics for infants, childen and adolescents beginning this weekend and continuing through the end of the month. A $15 administrative fee will be charged per child and parents are asked to bring any existing immunization records with them.

Clinic locations and hours are:

In addition to the community clinics, two pediatric medical offices will offer low-cost vaccinations Monday, April 23 through Friday, April 30:

For more information, contact the Clark County Health District at (702) 383-1351 or got to www.cchd.org.