Evaluating accountability in the Vaccines for Children program: protecting a federal investment.

The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program supplies health-care providers with federally purchased vaccines at no cost for administration to eligible children. Evaluation of vaccine accountability activities ensures appropriate and timely vaccinations are delivered. Program grantees in 50 states, Washington, five large U.

Uptake of varicella vaccination among young children in the United States: a success story in eliminating racial and ethnic disparities.

Objective: To examine uptake of varicella vaccine, a live attenuated vaccine licensed in 1995 and recommended in 1996 for routine vaccination of US children 12 to 18 months of age.

Methods: Data were for 178,616 children (19-35 months of age) and were collected in the 1997 to 2004 National Immunization Survey. The main outcome measures were estimated varicella vaccine coverage from 1997 to 2004, coverage among susceptible children (ie, those without a history of varicella disease), racial/ethnic disparities, risk factors for nonvaccination, missed opportunities to vaccinate simultaneously with other recommended vaccines, and projected increases in coverage after elimination of missed opportunities for simultaneous vaccination.

Hospital decision-making regarding the smallpox pre-event vaccination program.

Objectives: To understand the factors underlying the decision by U.S. hospitals to participate or not in the U.

Willingness of private physicians to be involved in smallpox preparedness and response activities.

Background: The public health system continues its efforts to prepare for bioterrorist events, such as a smallpox outbreak, but may need to call on other health professionals to ensure sufficient capacity to implement preparedness plans.

Objective: The goal was to understand the willingness of primary care physicians to participate in possible smallpox pre- or post-event activities.

Methods: A 23-question mail survey was sent to a national random sample of 727 internists and 720 family physicians.