The Community Immunity Gap

In Camden County, Georgia, protecting our most vulnerable requires maintaining a strict defense. Public health science is clear: to achieve true community immunity against highly contagious diseases, 92% to 95% of children must be fully vaccinated for MMR and DTaP.

When coverage dips below this critical threshold, the protective shield around our learning environments begins to unravel.

The Data Reality

Even our most successful early interventions leave gaps. Toddler coverage currently reaches 86.4% for MMR and 79.5% for DTaP—rates that already fall short of the 92-95% community immunity target.

Worse, a critical drop-off occurs as children age. By the time these same cohorts enter Kindergarten, overall vaccine compliance plummets to just 74.7%, creating severe vulnerabilities in our schools.

The Challenge

6 VFC Providers

This drop-off isn't solely a logistical issue. Camden is well-supported by 6 Vaccines for Children (VFC) providers, meaning physical access to shots is available.

Coupled with a 4.2% religious exemption rate, the data suggests that maintaining parent engagement and combating hesitancy as children age out of frequent pediatric visits is our true challenge.

The Intervention

To cross the 95% threshold, we must bridge the gap between toddlerhood and school entry. Relying strictly on early pediatric visits isn't enough.

We need to activate trusted community messengers—childcare center directors, preschool educators, and local leaders—to engage parents early and frequently about the importance of sustained immunity before school enrollment begins.

The Result

By shifting our focus from early-years clinics to continuous, community-wide engagement, we can rebuild trust and close the compliance gap.

The result is sustained protection. When parents receive ongoing support from community pillars, administrative barriers are cleared early, vaccination rates return to the 92-95% threshold, and our Camden County kindergartens remain safe.

Protecting Camden Families

A Data Guide for Vaccines in Camden County

The Current Landscape

To safeguard our community against outbreaks of measles and pertussis, Camden County must maintain a 92% to 95% vaccination rate for MMR and DTaP. Currently, early childhood coverage reaches 86.4% for MMR and 79.5% for DTaP—levels that already miss this critical safety threshold.

The challenge compounds as children reach school age, with only 74.7% of Kindergarteners fully up-to-date. With a moderate religious exemption rate of 4.2% and strong physical access through 6 VFC providers, the data makes it clear: reaching community immunity requires continuous, hyper-local engagement with families long after the toddler years.

0% Kindergarten Rate
Target: 92-95% (Critical Gap)
0% Religious Exemptions
Exemption Rate
0% Toddler MMR Rate
Target: 92-95% (19-35m)
0% Toddler DTaP Rate
Target: 92-95% (19-35m)
0% Childcare Certificates
Compliance in Centers
0 VFC Providers
Vaccines for Children Locations
Note on the data: For specific MMR and TDaP vaccination rates: All vaccine administration records and demographic data for children born between February 01, 2022 and May 31, 2024 were obtained from the Georgia Registry of Immunization Transactions and Services (GRITS). Data cleaning removed records if they contained no childhood vaccines, were out-of-state, duplicated, created for testing, or created as a placeholder at birth, or if a child died, resulting in 286,826 records. Each record was evaluated and if all doses of a vaccine were correctly administered by 36 months, the child was considered up-to-date on (or covered by) that vaccine.