Arizona Sees Decline in Child Mortality, but Vaccine-Preventable Deaths Rise
Arizona’s recent Child Fatality Report reveals a mixed picture for child health in the state. While the overall child fatality rate decreased in 2024, there was a troubling increase in deaths from diseases that could be thwarted by vaccines.
Compiled by the Arizona Child Fatality Review Program, the report provides critical insights aimed at guiding policymakers and healthcare professionals in reducing preventable child deaths, particularly for those under 17 years old.
The data indicates that 791 children in Arizona succumbed in 2024, marking a 7.6% reduction in the death rate per 100,000 children compared to 2023. This improvement was largely due to fewer deaths resulting from homicides, suicides, substance abuse, and premature births.
“We did see some decreases in deaths in a number of categories, which was very good news,” stated Dr. Mary Rimsza, chair of the Arizona Child Fatality Review Team. “But we also had some disturbing findings.”
In its third year of inclusion, the category for infectious disease deaths showed an increase, with 109 children dying from such causes in 2024—a 16% rise from the previous year. Alarmingly, about 36% of these deaths were deemed preventable through vaccination or other measures.
“As a pediatrician, I feel this is largely due to misinformation and misunderstanding about the safety of the vaccines versus the danger of the diseases that they prevent,” Dr. Rimsza explained.
Arizona has witnessed a steady decline in childhood vaccination rates over the past decade. For instance, vaccination coverage for measles, mumps, and rubella among kindergarteners was about 94% in 2014 but fell to below 89% by 2024, as highlighted by the state health department. Similar declines were observed for vaccines against Hepatitis B, pertussis, and other diseases.
Concerns are rising among pediatricians about the impact of vaccine misinformation. The CDC’s recent website revision under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has further fueled the debate by suggesting that a link between childhood vaccines and autism cannot be entirely dismissed, despite expert consensus debunking this claim.
Dr. Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, responded in a statement, “We call on the CDC to stop wasting government resources to amplify false claims that sow doubt in one of the best tools we have to keep children healthy and thriving: routine immunizations. Anyone repeating this harmful myth is misinformed or intentionally trying to mislead parents.”
The Arizona Child Fatality report suggests that health departments at state and local levels should work towards bolstering confidence in vaccines by disseminating information about their safety and effectiveness. The report also highlights that 65% of child deaths from infectious diseases in 2024 involved infants under the age of one, underscoring the need to shield them from exposure to unvaccinated individuals.
Dr. Rimsza emphasized, “Our recommendation to families is that they talk to their physician about vaccines, that they do not delay vaccines, because every time you delay it, you increase the chance your child will be exposed to a vaccine-preventable disease.”
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