Increasing immunization rates among Hispanics.

The 2006 National Infant Immunization Campaign, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will educate Hispanic parents and family members of children younger than two about the importance of vaccinating their children “on time every time” to avoid potentially serious vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Each year, CDC launches a culturally relevant public service campaign to encourage Hispanic parents to protect their children from potentially serious vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Anne Schuchat, director at the National Immunization Program. “This year’s dynamic and upbeat campaign, ‘Keeping the Promise,’ shows Hispanic family members lovingly committed to protecting children’s health though timely immunization. We at CDC are proud of this campaign and hope it will motivate parents, brothers and sisters, and grandparents to work together to help ensure all children have a healthy start in life by vaccinating on time every time.”

Spanish-language public service announcements (PSA) for radio and TV have been produced under this year’s campaign theme, “Keeping the Promise.” The 1960s hit song “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” will be the theme song used for the Spanish-
language TV and radio PSAs. Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch provided the rights to adapt the lyrics into Spanish and his music to a Latin flair. Spanish print ads, web banners and other materials have also been produced for distribution.

Nationwide, the gap in vaccine coverage levels between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white Americans has been decreasing But there is still a disparity in coverage in some areas of the country. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the Hispanic community has become the country’s largest minority group. This dramatic population growth, its diverse levels of cultural adaptation, language issues, lack of familiarity about the health system, and socio-economic issues, has contributed to a lower rate of immunization among Hispanic children. Also contributing to the disparity in immunization rates are lack of health insurance, lack of culturally appropriate materials and poor translation, and lack of awareness about the importance of immunization.

The goal of CDC is to have 90% of the nation’s 2 year olds fully covered with all of the recommended vaccines. One of the ways to reach this goal is to communicate to families that up-to-date immunizations not only protect individual children from acquiring vaccine-preventable diseases, but also protecting those in the community who are not vaccinated because of health or other reasons by reducing the spread of disease.