Children’s Defense Fund

In 1993, Congress enacted the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, in which the federal government purchases vaccines from manufacturers at a set price and makes them available to uninsured and poor children at no cost. In the following viewpoint, taken from a publication of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), the authors argue that the VFC program and other government and community campaigns have made progress toward the goal of fully immunizing 90 percent of U.S. children by age two. Rising immunization rates have in turn decreased the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases, the authors assert. The CDF is a private educational and lobbying organization that works on behalf of children.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How did childhood immunization rates change between 1992 and 1996, according to the authors?
2. Why is...