Back To School Immunizations In San Francisco Shows Racial Disparities Amongst Children

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— A back to school immunization event in San Francisco on Tuesday highlighted the racial disparities in immunization rates among children.

The State Department of Public Health and the San Francisco Immunization Coalition held an event in the city's Western Addition neighborhood to remind parents about vaccines required to attend school.

Speaking in front of the Maxine Hall Health Center, the chief of communicable disease control for the California Department of Public Health, Dr. James Watt laid out what he called practical ways to best use immunizations to make sure kids stay healthy and stay in school.

"Kids need to be up to date on their shots to start kindergarten and now, this is new, to start the 7th grade," Watt said.

KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:

Dr. Watt said parents and guardians need to talk to their doctors to make sure their kindergartners are up to date and that the main concern for incoming 7th graders is that they get their pertussis booster.

Nationally, pertussis or whopping cough rates are at their highest in 50 years.

Dr. Watt was joined by Karon Fields a social worker ar San Francisco's Black Infant Health Improvement Project who highlighted the continuing issue of health disparities for certain groups.

"Black children in San Francisco and in California are three times more likely to die than other babies," she said.

Fields said immunization, better nutrition and safer communities are some solutions needed to improve the health of these children.

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