HEALTH ALERT

Postponed vaccination problems

Despite efforts to recall children whose DTP vaccinations had been postponed because of vaccine shortages two years ago, many children have not yet completed full immunization.

An article in the April American Journal of Public Health describes the case at University Medical Center in Tucson. From December 1984 through July 1985, DTP vaccination was postponed for 56 children who had received doses at two, four and six months of age. Although all of those children were later recalled to be vaccinated, only 38 children either returned to the practice for immunization or let the practitioners know that they had received the vaccine elsewhere.