The Childhood Immunization Program is provided to towns as part of an interlocal contract to evaluate compliance with state public health regulations. During 2001, the program audited school health records at 103 preschool and primary schools. The audits assure that schools comply with state immunization law. Auditing also provides the public health nurse, school nurse and preschool director with the benefit of a site-specific review of immunization compliance rates. Monitoring also provides accurate information on age-appropriate immunization levels in a given community.
The audits produced two sets of data. The first confirmed a 96.4 percent compliance rate with state law at time of school entrance. The second, a retrospective study of first-graders, showed an age 2 compliance rate of 75.6%. This reflects a slight decrease from the 2000 age 2 compliance rate of 77. 4%.
The Increase Childhood Immunization Goal Team of the Partnership for Community Health is actively working to increase child immunization levels countywide.
