LETTERS: SERVICE CLUBS CAN HELP ON IMMUNIZATION EFFORT

To the editor:

About one year ago the announcement was made that, in the Western Hemisphere, the United States is second only to Haiti in the poorest record of immunizations for children 2 years old and under. Closer to home, an Aug. 11 report from the Missouri Bureau of Immunization shows that the immunization levels from public clinics of Missouri's 2-year-old children are the lowest in the nation. In Missouri, statistics show these levels range from a high of 97.3 percent in Howard County to a low of 31 percent in Clark County.

There are numerous projects which are currently under way in Missouri. The Vaccinations for Children program has currently enrolled nearly 1,800 practitioners across the state to provide publicly purchased vaccines to those children who are Medicaid-enrolled or uninsured.

There are also service organizations who have a corps of volunteers who are looking for worthy projects. My challenge is to enlist these community organizations, such as Rotary International, to share in this common goal. One of Rotary's programs is PolioPlus and has the goal of eradicating polio in the world by the year 2000. A spinoff of PolioPlus is Immunization USA.

While noting that the PolioPlus program has rendered the Western Hemisphere polio-free (three years without a case as of Sept. 27, 1994), it has become apparent that the maintenance of protective immunizations of children, particularly those 2 years old and under in the United States, has become dangerously low.

Projects such as the Bee Wise -- Immunize and numerous other locally named projects are up and running. The formation of both state and metropolitan immunization coalitions are in place. At this point, a unified but locally enhanced effort by Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society doctors could dramatically magnify the existing effects.

A lack of information seems to be the source of the problem in our area. The local health organizations and the medical community must strive to communicate that vaccinations are available through the county health department and that they are free of charge.

I would encourage members to enlist the presidents of the community's service organizations and encourage them to join with us and our public health officials by supporting existing programs and establishing appropriate efforts in the private sector.

SCOT G. PRINGLE, M.D., President

Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society

Cape Girardeau