Most Children Getting Vaccinated

(September 5, 2008) - The vast majority of the nation's parents are having their children get recommended vaccinations, according to 2007 vaccine coverage estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Read about "Immunizations")

Childhood immunization rates remain at or near record levels, with at least 90 percent coverage for all but one of the individual vaccines in the recommended series for young children, said the CDC's 2007 National Immunization Survey (NIS).

More than 77 percent of children were fully vaccinated with all vaccines in the series of recommended vaccines, and there were no differences in coverage among any racial or ethnic group for the complete series. Importantly, less than 1 percent of children had received no vaccines by age 19 months to 35 months.

"The ongoing success of our nation's immunization program is largely dependent on the trust that parents put in the safety of vaccines and in those caregivers who administer them," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC director. "I want to encourage parents to continue to be informed and to ask their pediatricians about the safety of vaccines or any other concerns they may have about their child's health."

The recommended vaccine series measured by NIS consists of four doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTaP); three doses of polio vaccine, one or more doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR); three doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib); three doses of hepatitis B vaccine; and one or more doses of varicella or chickenpox vaccine. This set of immunizations begins shortly after a child is born and continues through age 2. The fourth dose of DTaP vaccine is the only vaccine of the recommended series that has not reached 90 percent coverage (84.5 percent). (Read about "Childhood Illnesses")

As in previous years, estimated vaccination coverage levels varied substantially among states. Estimated coverage with the complete vaccine series ranged from 91.3 percent in Maryland to 63.1 percent in Nevada. Coverage also ranged substantially among 14 local areas surveyed. The highest estimated coverage among the local areas for the complete series was 82.2 percent in Philadelphia, and the lowest was 69.6 percent in San Bernardino, Calif.