Assessing immunization services at a neighborhood health center

American children are not adequately immunized. The 1976 US Immunization Survey found that among children 1 to 4 years of age, more than 33% had never received measles or rubella vaccine, 40% had not received three doses of polio vaccine, and 30% had not received three or more doses of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccine. For any of these vaccines, immunization levels were lower for children living in the central cities than for those living in suburban areas. Surveys in Massachusetts confirmed these national findings, with pockets of low immunization found in the inner city areas of Boston. Recognizing the risks inherent in these low immunization levels, the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare (DHEW) announced an 'immunization initiative' designed to achieve 90% coverage among two-year-olds by October 1979.