This article is from page 6 of the 2013-04-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
WHILE the take up of childhood vaccinations in Clare has increased significantly in the last number of years, it is still not high enough for the HSE to consider the population immune from diseases such as measles, whooping cough and certain strains of meningitis. Specialist in Public Health Medi- cine Dr Rose Fitzgerald told The Clare People that the ideal vaccination target is 95 per cent. “We know if we get 95 per cent up take we get herd immunity,” she said. The public health expert said that there has been a significant increase in the number of people having their children vaccinated in the last five years with the per centage opting for the state vaccination programme jumping from the mid 70s to 94 per cent in many cases. In County Clare there is a slight drop off in the up take towards the end of the programme which Dr Fitzgerald attributes to busy mothers returning to work after maternity leave, and a recent change in the vaccine schedule which led to some confusion. Apathy also plays a part she maintains. Figures from July to September last year show that 98 per cent of Clare parents allowed their infants to be vaccinated against tuberculosis at birth. However that number fell to 94 per cent and less for all others vaccines, with the exception of the first 6 in 1 injections at four months. This was as high as 96 per cent. Dr Fitzgerald said that it was never too late to have a child vaccinated. “Just bring the child to the doctor straight away. “The schedule might change slightly depending on the age of the child in question,” she said.