Community Resilience

A Strategic Roadmap for Tift County Public Health

The Current Landscape

Tift County demonstrates exceptional public health performance in school-aged children. With a 97.56% Kindergarten Immunization Rate, the county significantly exceeds the 95% threshold for herd immunity. Furthermore, 94.42% of children in childcare are up-to-date. While religious exemptions remain low at 2.44%, there is a distinct opportunity to improve "Not Up-To-Date" (grace period) statuses and bolster toddler DTaP coverage to match the high standards set in our schools.

Tift County Public Health Map
0% Kindergarten Rate
Target: 95% (Exceeded)
0% Religious Exemptions
Below State Average
0% Toddler MMR Rate
High Baseline (19-35 Mos)
0% Toddler DTaP Rate
Target: 90% (Met)
0% Childcare Up-To-Date
Strong Early Compliance

Strategic Recommendations

1. Optimizing Toddler Schedules

Tift is very close to the 95% threshold for toddlers. With a 92.8% MMR rate, closing the 2.2% gap is achievable through routine follow-ups.

Action
Strengthen "reminder-recall" systems within local pediatric offices to capture the final toddler-age doses.
2. Reducing "Not Up-To-Date" Status

With 13.46% of records marked as not up-to-date, many children may simply be in a grace period or missing paperwork.

Efficiency
Provide childcare directors with streamlined tools to help parents turn "not up-to-date" status into full compliance.
3. Sustaining High Performance

The 97.56% kindergarten rate is a regional model of success. Maintaining the partnerships that built this rate is vital.

Recognition
Celebrate and support the school registrars and health officials who maintain these industry-leading rates.
4. Driving Policy Change

Sustainable improvement requires a supportive policy environment that prioritizes student health.

Advocacy
Provide policy analysis on vaccine requirements and encourage advocacy.
Contact State Elected Officials Contact School Board Officials