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Immunization rates tick up after recall effort, but grant cuts put programs at risk
Summary
Health department staff reported a recent rise in childhood vaccine series completion and described school-clinic activity and outreach, while warning that immunization grant cuts and a state funding deadline threaten personnel and outreach materials.
Evansville City Health Department staff presented updated immunization data showing a rise in full-series coverage and described school and mobile clinics that reached children with limited access to primary care — while warning that recent grant losses threaten the department’s immunization capacity.
Erin, the staff member who presented the immunization update, told the board that local coverage for the measured series rose from about 71.7% to 74.6% as of April 1, 2025, after coordinated reminder-and-recall efforts with providers. Erin credited reminder recall and school‑based clinics for the gains.
Program details and outreach
Erin said the department ran 13 school-based clinics in the fall and vaccinated 203 students; roughly half of those students lacked a primary care provider, and more than half were covered by Medicaid or were uninsured. The department said school clinics address the leading barriers parents reported in a June–July survey (almost 800 responses): transportation, clinic hours, being too busy and not knowing where to go.
Staff noted that mobile and after‑hours clinics help reach adults and some children but that pediatric vaccine logistics — multiple antigen combinations and cold‑chain space — complicate adding all pediatric vaccines to mobile units.
Grant and vaccine‑funding concerns
Board members and staff said the department lost immunization-related grant funding. Multiple speakers provided differing figures in the meeting: one speaker said immunization-related personnel funding had been roughly $900,000 in prior allocations, while staff later said an immunization grant will drop from about $523,000 to roughly $38,000 and will end in June. Staff emphasized they can spend existing grant funds through June but must identify replacements or program changes by that deadline.
Ending
The department asked the board to help publicize school clinic schedules and to coordinate with community partners serving non‑English speakers. Board members volunteered to share flyers with local immigrant‑serving organizations and to press hospitals and providers to assist with recall and surge capacity if outbreaks occur.
