Child Immunization Pushed At State Level

Some public health advocates want Idaho Governor-elect Dirk Kempthorne to hire a childhood immunization czar, said Carol Moehrle, director of the North Central District Health Department.

The state’s seven public health districts are seeking $98,000 from the legislature to help develop a statewide computer registry to track childhood immunizations, Moehrle said. The health districts and Kempthorne’s task force charged with studying childhood immunization also would like to establish a registry on the Internet, Moehrle said.

The transition committee expects to hear from the immunization task force next week, according to Michael Bogert, Kempthorne’s deputy transition director.

Idaho has the second lowest immunization rate for 2-year-olds in the nation at 72 percent, Moehrle said.