Association of Immunization Managers Calls for Federal Funding to Reverse Falling Vaccination Rates

“On August 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data showing a continued decline in childhood vaccination rates. This is our nation’s warning system blinking red. Hundreds of thousands of school children now lack the protection that can keep them safe from measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, and other preventable diseases. This drop in vaccination rates is happening as state and city immunization programs are losing capacity due to federal funding reductions. AIM is here to sound the alarm.

This is not just a public health issue; it is a preventable crisis. Measles, a disease once eliminated in the United States, has made a dangerous comeback. In just the past year, we have seen outbreaks across our nation, especially in places where vaccination rates have fallen below levels needed to keep the measles virus from spreading through communities.

So how did we get to a point where measles is again a threat?

We got here because misinformation is spreading faster than the virus itself. We got here because underfunded public health departments are being asked to do too much with too little. We got here because our federal investment in vaccination outreach, education, and access is no longer keeping pace with the threat.

That is why AIM is calling on Congress to increase federal funding for immunization programs. When Congress returns from recess in September, we urge them to commit to a $100 million bi-cameral, bipartisan increase to the Section 317 Immunization Program, with the money targeted to state and local public health agencies and spread out over the next five years.

We need targeted outreach to communities with low vaccination rates. We need support for schools, clinics, and local health departments. And we need education campaigns that provide facts, compassion, and science. Adequate and predictable funding is critical to public health success.

In a statement on the falling rates, a Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson noted that vaccination is a personal choice. However, parents need support to make that choice based on the best science and data, with messages shared by the doctors and public health professionals they trust.

This is not about politics. It is about protecting our children and communities. Every dollar we invest now in prevention saves lives and avoids far greater costs down the road. We cannot afford to be complacent. It is not a partisan issue.  It is a public health imperative.

Congress must fully fund the fight against measles and other infectious diseases. We must act before the preventable becomes unmanageable. And we must ensure that every American has the information and protection they deserve.”

About Association of Immunization Managers

The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) is a nonprofit membership association comprised of the directors of the 66 federally funded state, territorial, and local public health immunization programs. AIM is dedicated to working with its partners nationwide to reduce, eliminate, or eradicate vaccine-preventable diseases. AIM also works to ensure the success of its members by providing support in their programming interests. Since 1999, AIM has enabled collaboration among immunization managers to effectively control vaccine-preventable diseases and improve immunization coverage in the United States. For more information on AIM, please visit www.immunizationmanagers.org/