Love, protect, immunize kids

Healthy children are their own reward, but Washington and King County were recognized this week as the nation's most improved state and urban area for childhood-immunization rates.

From 2003 to 2006, the number of children in the state with complete vaccination series increased 15 percentage points to 71.2 percent. For King County, the number climbed 10.1 percentage points to 71.3. Both rates are still behind the state and national goal of 80 percent.Washington Secretary of State Mary Selecky and Dr. Anne Schuchat, an assistant surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service, toured the state to promote a fundamental way to protect lives and help eliminate common but serious childhood diseases.

Past campaigns have covered both practical and emotional concerns. Early efforts focused on language barriers and matching the hours at public health clinics with the nontraditional work schedules of their clients. Now, efforts target ever busier doctors in private practice to ensure that the benefits of vaccinations get discussed, and parental worries about safety are talked through.

The basic arguments have not changed over the years:

• Immunizations save lives. The recommended childhood schedule of shots now covers 15 diseases.

• Those shots in the arms and legs and elsewhere might hurt briefly, but they are safe.

Dr. Schuchat, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, is emphatic that science does not support the fears about links between autism and vaccines.

• Immunized children protect others in the family and their classmates, especially those who might be precluded by allergies and other health issues from receiving the shots.

• Healthy kids are not a drain on a family's financial and emotional resources. Insurance is not exhausted or parents do not miss work to care for them.

• No one thinks about future generations, with a sobbing 2-year-old to comfort, but those vaccinations protect future generations.

Immunizing children takes planning and effort but the payoff is huge — for healthy infants and children, school-age kids and into the teenage years. The award for most improved is shared by all.