Public Health

US children's vaccination rates higher than ever among all ethnic groups

Last Updated: 2006-09-14 13:30:13 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - According to the 2005 National Immunization Survey, coverage with the recommended vaccines for children ages 19 to 35 months remained at or near all-time-high levels, according to public health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Moreover, vaccination rates were not significantly affected by race or ethnicity.

For the survey, randomly chosen families were interviewed over the telephone to see if their children were up to date in the "4:3:1:3:3:1 vaccine series." This represents the recommended doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine; poliovirus vaccine; measles, mumps, rubella vaccine; Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine; hepatitis B vaccine; and varicella vaccine.

According to their report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for September 15, vaccine coverage with the 4:3:1:3:3:1 vaccine series varied by state, with 90.7% of children in Massachusetts inoculated, compared with 62.9% in Vermont. However, for the first time, the proportion of children who were vaccinated did not vary significantly among white, black, Asian, Hispanic, or multiple-race children.

Dr. N. Darling and colleagues report that rates of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination increased substantially, by roughly 10%, from 2004 to 2005. However, for the first time, MMR vaccination declined significantly by about 1.5%.

They estimate that routine childhood vaccination against infections in the 4:3:1:3:3:1 vaccine series would save about $43 billion by annual birth cohort.

Mor Mortal Wkly Rep CDC Surveill Summ 2006;55:988-993.