As millions of children go back to school this week, a distressingly high proportion of them will fail an important medical test. Though effective, safe and usually free vaccines are readily available, these children have no protection against at least four common, communicable and dangerous diseases.
In New York, for example, State Health Commissioner Robert P. Whalen reports that about 20% of the 300,000 children due to enter first grade have not been immunized against polio, measles or rubella. Most of them are not even protected against diphtheria, the vaccine for which is...
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