Historical vaccination rates?

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Does anyone know where I can find solid data on vaccination rates since, say, 1950? The rhetoric is that vaccination rates are dropping due to vaccine refusal, but knowing what I do about general historical trends I suspect that vaccination rates are at a historical high. Did the uninsured poor get vaccines in the 70s and 80s? How?

So I suspect that there's more bluster about vaccination refusal, but due to a greater access to healthcare (at least in the 90s and early 00s) vaccination rates are probably higher than they were back in the day. Or, am I totally wrong?

[amnesiac]

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/G/coverage.pdf

[shiningpearl]

Thanks for the link..

OP, you where right.  vaccine rates are at the highest they've been. 

[pers]

The overall vaccination rate in the US remains fairly high.  

The concern in the US is with pockets of low vaccination.  Communities such as some in Boulder Colorado which have a much lower than average vaccination rate than the average and thus could jumpstart an outbreak by having a much larger number of initial exposures than would happen elsewhere.  

Also, vaccination rates in the UK and France and some other places in Europe have dropped.  

[miriam]

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Edited by miriam - 5/28/12 at 8:49pm

[serenbat]

Did the uninsured poor get vaccines in the 70s and 80s? How?

they were able in my area (PA) - mostly via the local DR and it wasn't that expensive and also in the 70's they ran programs in the schools and parents could go as well (and TP testing too for parents)

in the 80's my state did low cost/free clinics 

I found a vac record from the 60's in a babybook that I bough from Baltimore MD and it said the vacs for free (public health record)

it should be noted - that  scarlet fever, rheumatic fever have no vaccines 

I had scarlet fever in the 70's

[miriam]

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Edited by miriam - 5/28/12 at 8:48pm

[WildKingdom]

Scarlet fever and rheumatic fever have largely disappeared (in the country) thanks to widespread antibiotic use to treat Group A strep infections.  I've seen plenty of rheumatic heart disease in people who either had rheumatic fever in the pre-antibiotic era or people from developing countries.

[miriam]

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Edited by miriam - 5/28/12 at 8:47pm

[nia82]

I was diagnosed with scarlet fever in 2005 in San Francisco. My niece had strep throat and I had fever for one day and then an itchy rash all over my torso. I thought it was a rash in response to harsh detergents used but urgent care doc gave me allegra and diagnosed me with scarletina. I'm not so sure about that ;) Lots of people I grew up with were diagnosed with scarletina a bunch of times, and we certainly had plenty of antibiotics at our disposal.

[Mirzam]

Adding to the anecdotes....

I remember my brother being diagnosed with scarletina as a kid. He certainly isn't that old that there weren't antibiotics around at the time. I did not get it.

[serenbat]

My point is that statistics can be wrong. 

and so with reporting!

MANY VPD were not reported the local dr (thus no govt record) did not even address things unless there were complications and many mothers never had the need to even tell drs what their children had

[emmy526]

Originally Posted by serenbat 

and so with reporting!

MANY VPD were not reported the local dr (thus no govt record) did not even address things unless there were complications and many mothers never had the need to even tell drs what their children had

very true.. so how did they come up with that stats on the diseases for back in the old days if no one reported to the dr?  i would think it was guesswork. 

[miriam]

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Edited by miriam - 5/28/12 at 8:45pm

[serenbat]

reporting in my state only went into effect in 2003

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=557088&mode=2