Less than 64% Ohio kids properly immunized in 2013

Staff report

COLUMBUS

New data shows Ohio now ranks 49th in the country for childhood immunizations.

The National Immunization Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed immunization rates are rising nationally; while at the same time, Ohio’s rates are falling.

The NIS showed that nationally 72.7 percent of children 19 to 35 months received all of their routine vaccinations in 2013, rising from 68.4 percent in 2012.

Conversely, the NIS survey indicated that 63.4 percent of Ohio’s children were properly immunized in 2013. That number fell from 66.8 percent in 2012 and 76.4 percent in 2011, putting Ohio 49th in the country for immunizations, ahead of only Arkansas.

To increase vaccine rates and improve public health, the Ohio Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics worked with legislators to draft House Bill 536, sponsored by state representatives Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and Ryan Smith, R-Gallipolis.

The bill would restore the immunization requirement for children entering into a state-regulated childcare facility. Ohio is the only state that does not have this requirement.

Read the complete story in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.