Parents Urged to Immunize Infants

As a reminder to parents to get their children immunized, Ventura County health officials have launched a weeklong awareness campaign to coincide with similar state and national programs.

The goal of the campaign is to alert parents to have their infant children fully immunized by their second birthday for protection against dangerous diseases, officials said.

Surveys show that 36% of 2-year-old children in the county may be getting their shots late or not at all, leaving them at risk for polio, measles, tetanus, rubella, whooping cough and other diseases, officials said. It is estimated that for every dollar spent on immunizations, $10 to $14 will be saved by disease prevention.

President Clinton has declared this National Immunization Week.