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September 4, 2002
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"5,500 in D.C. Still Lack Vaccination"
Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (09/04/02) P. B1; Blum, Justin
By the time school started up on Tuesday in Washington D.C., 5,535 children out of 68,000 still had not complied with immunization policies and were unable to attend classes. Some parents said they were unaware that they had to follow through with boosters this year, since their children had been initially immunized the year before, while others, aware of the policy, said they tried to comply but had been turned away by clinics who said they were out of some vaccine stocks at the time. In a last-minute rush between last Friday and Tuesday morning, Ralph Neal, an assistant superintendent for the district school system, said that over 1,100 students did receive their shots and were able to show proof in time for school this week. School board President Peggy Cooper Carats commented that it could take a couple of years yet before "everybody gets it and it's part of the culture so that [students not having shots] becomes the total exception."
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