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May 6, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Heath Care: Crisis at the Border"

Houston Chronicle (www.chron.com) (05/05/02) P. A1; Pinkerton, James

Residents on the Texas and Mexico border are dying from diseases such as cervical cancer, tuberculosis, liver disease, rabies, diabetes at nearly twice the national average due to high levels of poverty and high numbers of people without health insurance, says University of Texas School of Public Health's Sue Fisher-Hoch.  Texas ranks in last place among the 50 states in terms of immunizations, and a recent survey by the Border Health Office revealed that almost two-thirds of the people in the border's colonias did not have health insurance.  The Texas Health Department requires children who live on the border, where a large number of students become infected every year, to receive a hepatitis A vaccine before entering school.  The problem is that funding for health care in the border area cannot increase fast enough to deal with the explosion in population; a 10-fold increase in funding in the last 30 years has fallen behind the population, which has skyrocketed in the same period, says University of Texas School of Public Health vice president for external affairs Antonio Zavaleta.

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.