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A recent study has determined that Canadian children are not receiving their recommended immunizations.

Only 66.5 per cent of children had received their recommended shots by age two.

The study was conducted by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto. The health records of more than 98,000 two-year old Canadian children were reviewed.

In the past, the most important improvements to overall health resulted from improved hygiene, clean water and safe food being made available to most people. Providing clean water and good sewage systems are still vital government services.

The next major improvement in the health of populations resulted from immunization. Small pox was the first scourge to be eradicated by vaccination. Other diseases, which used to kill or disable thousands of children each year, are now rare thanks to vaccination.

Given the overwhelming benefits of immunization, why are one-third of children not receiving their recommended shots?

The recommended vaccines for children up to age two offer protection against the following diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, hemophilus influenza B, mumps, measles, rubella, hepatitis B, chickenpox, pneumococcus, several types of meningoccus, and influenza.

Some of these shots can be given at later ages, but the majority are recommended to be given between birth

and age two.

There are a variety of reasons for children not receiving some or all of these shots. No one likes to get shots, and possibly some parents are a little squeamish about having their children "suffer."

The difficulty in getting a family doctor may be preventing some parents from having their children's immunizations tracked. In fact, the study authors offer the explanation that there is no built-in reminder system to notify parents and doctors of when the next shots are due.

The safety of vaccines is sometimes questioned. Vaccines must go through the same rigorous testing as any medicine to prove they are both safe and effective. There is continuous monitoring as well. There are, from time to time, mild side effects experienced by some children such as a slight fever or a sore injection site.

The effects of suffering the sickness are far more hazardous than the small risk of suffering a reaction to the vaccine.

Then we get to what are considered by health care providers as the unsubstantiated rumors.

There have been studies conducted which prove conclusively that the measles or MMR vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disorders.

Then what about the mercury in vaccines causing brain damage, retardation, and so on?

In order to allay this concern, although there was no evidence that it was credible, since March, 2001, all vaccines for routine immunization of children in Canada are produced without thimerosal (a mercury compound previously used as a preservative in some vaccines).

At the moment, the children that get the recommended vaccinations are protecting the children who don't receive them. If the percentage of children who are not protected grows, there is a real danger that outbreaks of childhood diseases will become more prevalent.

I can remember the tension that was felt in late summer in Fredericton when polio threatened.

The opening of school was delayed, and children were discouraged from attending any event where they would be crowded together. We would hear from time to time of the unfortunate friend or classmate who would be stricken by the disease. This is not a good memory.

I was a university student when the vaccine was finally perfected. The polio vaccine was welcomed by both the public and the medical community when it was introduced in the mid-1950s. Now, polio is on the verge of global eradication.

Jo-Ann Fellows is a writer with an interest in health care. She lives in Fredericton. Her column appears every Tuesday. Please send comments to letters@dailygleaner.com.