Benton County, Oregon

Health Status Report 2010

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Immunization: Notable Statistics

Introduction • Child Immunization • Adolescent Immunization • Adult Immunization

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Introduction

Vaccinations are given to slow and/or to prevent the spread of infectious diseases through a population. Over the last few decades vaccines have significantly decreased the incidence of diseases such as polio and measles. However, immunization rates have dropped steadily since 2005.

When enough of the population is vaccinated, roughly 80%, a community is said to have herd immunity. This indicates that the proportion of vaccinated individuals is above a threshold level that makes it impossible for the disease to persist in the community. If a community has herd immunity then community members that cannot be vaccinated due to other health problems, do not have access to vaccinations, or refuse to be vaccinated can be protected by the immunity of the rest of the community. When the proportion of vaccinated individuals falls beneath a certain threshold then the community becomes vulnerable to disease.

Healthy People 2020 targets 90% coverage of specific childhood immunizations (DTaP, IPV, MMR, Hepb, Hib and Varicella). Benton County child immunization rates are representative of the health department measures only and may not represent actual county data.

	Exceeds Target:	Healthy People 2020 aims to have 90% of all children aged 19-35 months vaccinated with 3 doses of IPV. In 2009, 94.2% of Benton County children between 19-35 months of age were vaccinated with three doses of IPV.
	Meets Target:	Healthy People 2020 aims to have 90% of all children aged 19-35 months vaccinated with 1 dose of MMR vaccine. In 2009, 89.8% of Benton County children between 19-35 months of age were vaccinated with 1 dose of MMR vaccine.
	Needs Improvement:	In 2009, 53.6% of Benton County children aged 24-35 months had up-to-date vaccinations. To achieve herd immunity at least 80% of the population must be vaccinated.

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