This study found that Kansas children immunized in private clinics received more timely immunizations during the first year of life than those immunized in local health departments (LHDs).
After the first year, the gap between private clinics and LHDs narrows, and coverage rates at the age of 24 months tend to be higher in LHDs than in private clinics. In urban counties, however, vaccination coverage rates in private clinics are substantially higher than in LHDs across all ages, possibly because fewer physicians participate in the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program and local health departments don”t seem to be able to cope with the volume of children referred by private clinics.