Childhood Immunizations

Childhood Immunizations in Nevada

Nevada

Early childhood immunizations are a safe and cost-effective way of protecting infants and children from potentially life-threatening preventable diseases early in life when they are most vulnerable. It is recommended that infants receive immunizations for 14 diseases by 24 months of life. The success of vaccines in controlling many infectious diseases led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to call vaccines one of the Ten Great Public Health Achievements of the 20th century.

After implementation of the Vaccines for Children Program in 1994, modeling estimated that among all children born between 1994 and 2013, childhood vaccinations would prevent 322 million cases of disease and 21 million hospitalizations over their lifetimes and 732,000 premature deaths due to vaccine-preventable diseases. These estimates translate to net savings of $295 billion in direct costs and $1.38 trillion in total societal costs.

According to the National Immunization Survey, the vaccination coverage among children for the combined seven-vaccine series was lower in:

• Children living below the poverty level compared with those living at or above the poverty level. 
• Black and Hispanic children compared with white children. Asian children also had a higher vaccination rate.

Achieving and maintaining high vaccination coverage is critical to sustaining progress in reducing the impact of vaccine-preventable diseases. The Vaccines for Children program supports the purchase of vaccines as well as immunization operations at the local, state and national levels. The 2010 Affordable Care Act requires health insurance plans to cover preventive services, including immunizations, without charging deductibles, copayments or coinsurance. 

Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations to increase vaccination rates include:

• Expanding access to vaccines in health care settings: 
  • Increasing or modifying vaccination service hours.
  • Delivering vaccinations in additional clinical settings, including emergency departments, inpatient units and subspecialty clinics.
  • Reducing administrative barriers to obtaining vaccinations by developing “drop-in” clinics or "express lane" vaccination services.
• Expanding home visiting services.
• Establishing vaccination programs in schools and child care centers.
• Increasing community demand for vaccinations through active outreach, tracking, education, incentives and case management as well as reminder and recall systems.

Healthy People 2030 has several vaccination objectives focused on children, including reducing the proportion of children who get no recommended vaccinations by age 2.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Ten Great Public Health Achievements -- United States, 1900-1999.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 48, no. 12 (April 2, 1999): 241–43. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056796.htm.

Hill, Holly A., Laurie D. Elam-Evans, David Yankey, James A. Singleton, and Yoonjae Kang. “Vaccination Coverage Among Children Aged 19–35 Months — United States, 2017.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 67, no. 40 (October 12, 2018): 1123–28. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6740a4.

Whitney, Cynthia G., Fangjun Zhou, James Singleton, and Anne Schuchat. “Benefits from Immunization during the Vaccines for Children Program Era - United States, 1994-2013.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 63, no. 16 (April 25, 2014): 352–55. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6316a4.htm?s_cid=mm6316a4_w.