Protecting Polk Families

The Current Landscape

Polk County faces a unique public health bottleneck. Currently, only 83% of kindergarteners are up-to-date on their vaccinations (down 0.9% from 2024), while 14.39% have received nonmedical exemptions (up 0.1% from 2024)—the highest rate in North Carolina. This vulnerability is compounded by the fact that there is only 1 VFC provider currently serving the entire county. Expanding this network and addressing barriers like scheduling are vital to safeguarding our children.