Baltimore City Wins Award for Vaccination Rate
Recognized by CDC for Huge Improvement in Coverage

Baltimore, MD - Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is presenting Baltimore City with its "Most Improved" award for childhood immunization coverage.

Baltimore's immunization rate for children ages 19 to 35 months increased 26.8% from 65.3% in 2001 to 82.8% in 2004, the largest increase among seven honored cities. This rate reflects basic vaccine coverage against the devastating diseases of measles, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, hepatitis B, and hemophilus influenzae type B.

"I am proud of the efforts of the Health Department and its partners to improve access to life-saving vaccines for our children," said Mayor Martin O'Malley. "This award honors the nation-leading progress we are making in Baltimore."

Baltimore's success stems from an aggressive data-driven outreach strategy. Areas of the city with low immunization rates were mapped and then flooded with outreach services. By using a mobile immunization van and holding vaccine clinics in nontraditional settings, the Health Department team identified and vaccinated children with poor access to health care.

Working with Baltimore Healthcare Access Inc., the Health Department team connected at-risk children to health insurance and ongoing primary care.

"This accomplishment is worthy of Baltimore's public health tradition," said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, Commissioner of Health. "Everyone who helps to provide immunizations to children in Baltimore City deserves credit."

Dr. Anne Bailowitz of the Bureau of Child Health and Immunization is accepting the award this morning at the CDC's 40th annual National Immunization Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Today, the Baltimore City Health Department is releasing a fact sheet on its most recent immunization data, which shows the city's immunization rate to be higher than the overall rate in the state of Maryland and the United States. It will be available at http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/health/index.html

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