United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Program Evaluation and Methodology Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1995-06-15 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:T-PEMD-95-23 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-PEMD-95-23 P0b002ee18037db31 f:tpe95023 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-T-PEMD-95-23 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-PEMD-95-23 T-PEMD-95-23 Immunization programs Immunization services Children Physicians Health care cost control Disadvantaged persons Infectious diseases Community health services CDC Vaccines for Children Program Medicaid Program Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children AFDC Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program WIC Testimony PEMD More than 95 percent of the nation's children receive recommended vaccinations by the time they enter school. Preschool children were overrepresented, however, in the widespread measles outbreaks of 1989-91, a situation attributed to underimmunization. The Vaccines for Children Program, created in 1993, is intended to boost immunization coverage for children by reducing the costs of the vaccines for their parents. Yet GAO concludes that the cost of vaccine for parents has not been a major barrier to childrens' timely vaccination. Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control cannot guarantee that the program will reach pockets of need--areas or populations in which immunizations rates are low and the risk of disease is high. GAO concludes that better use of Medicaid, public health clinics, and other health providers may hold a better promise of immunizing children against disease at a cost lower than that of the program. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-PEMD-95-23/html/GAOREPORTS-T-PEMD-95-23.htm GAO/T-PEMD-95-23 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-PEMD-95-23 Testimony GAO/T-PEMD-95-23; Vaccines for Children: Refocusing the Program's Goal and Implementation; Immunization programs Immunization services Children Physicians Health care cost control Disadvantaged persons Infectious diseases Community health services CDC Vaccines for Children Program Medicaid Program Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children AFDC Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program WIC