Medicine for a sick immunization system

The United States has recently experienced a rise in the incidence of measles and other preventable infectious diseases. Studies have linked the problem to a growing number of inadequately vaccinated preschoolers. The Minnesota Department of Health estimates that only 61.4% of the state's 2-year-olds have completed the basic primary series on schedule. Coverage rates are worse in the Twin Cities, where the number of poor and minority "at-risk" children has skyrocketed in the last 10 years. Two different assessments in St. Paul revealed that only 24% to 32% of the 2-year-olds in the survey populations had received the basic series of immunizations. Public and private health care providers need to work together to eliminate barriers to immunization.