An estimated 20% of two-year-old children in Los Angeles County have not received vaccinations that offer immunizations against a number of serious diseases, according to public health officials, who provided the assessment while declaring "Toddler Immunization Month."
"The threat of vaccine-preventable diseases in Los Angeles County remains real, as underscored by the recent H1N1 influenza pandemic," according to 2nd District Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas.
Ridley-Thomas made his comments on May 11 during an event to publicize the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's plan to encourage immunization by highlighting benefits of getting infants and toddlers vaccinated.
Officials of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that infants and toddlers complete a series of vaccines in their first 18 months to protect them against 14 serious diseases, including pertussis, chicken pox and measles. Medical professionals caution that those and other preventable diseases can sometimes be serious and even fatal.
Los Angeles County officials said that they currently have the safest and most effective vaccine supply in history thanks to advances in vaccine technology and monitoring. Call the Los Angeles County information line at 2-1-1 for more information in English, Spanish and various other languages, or visit the Department of Public Health's Immunization Program website at www.ph.lacounty.gov/ip on the Internet.
Photo of Mark Ridley Thomas from ridley-thomas.lacounty.gov; image of baby from www.cdc.gov.
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