Child Immunization vs. Roads?

A structural deficit in the state budget, without new revenues, requires cutting things that make our communities healthier. Last Sunday the Boston Globe ran the story, "State's vaccine supply rationed."

   Facing unprecedented demand for three childhood vaccines, Massachusetts health authorities have begun rationing the state's reserve, fueling fear among some pediatricians that a dangerous gap in coverage might result.
   The state quietly issued a memo to doctors late last year telling them to limit their use of certain state-supplied shots for meningitis, diphtheria, and chickenpox, primarily in older children.

Our children are not all covered and the public health safety net is in danger of further unraveling:

   Dr. Jerome O. Klein, a pediatrics professor at Boston University, said he does not think the new restrictions indicate that the state is giving up its commitment to childhood vaccinations. Still, Klein acknowledged that the state has multiple priorities competing for limited dollars.
   "There is a price to pay, and it does run up against bridges and housing and other costs," Klein said. "There's no question that the vast majority of children are being immunized, but there are some children who are falling through the cracks."

But the question is even bigger than "child vaccinations vs. roads;" our State Laboratory Institute created a seamless delivery system (i.e. readily available supplies plus free shots for the families that can't afford it.), which meant we were #1 in the nation in protection from vaccine-able childhood diseases.

    "What this is doing to the pediatricians is they are having to not just order stuff through the [Department of Public Health]; they're having to order it through pharmacies and manufacturers," said Palfrey, a professor of pediatrics at the Boston University School of Medicine. "We've been number one in vaccination rates not just because we have vaccine, but because we've set up a system and a communal motivation to do universal distribution."

What would you do to restore this safety structure?