Vaccination coverage among children in kindergarten--United States, 2006-07 school year

Healthy People 2010 objectives include increasing vaccination coverage among children in kindergarten and first grade (objective 14-23). For these children, the target is >/=95% vaccination coverage for the following: hepatitis B vaccine; diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccine, diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine, or diphtheria and tetanus toxoids vaccine (DTP/DTaP/DT); poliovirus vaccine; measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine; and varicella vaccine. To assess progress toward national goals and determine vaccination coverage among children in kindergarten, data were analyzed from reports submitted to CDC by 49 states and the District of Columbia (DC) for the 2006-07 school year. This report summarizes findings from that analysis, which indicated that approximately 75% of states have reached the 2010 objective of at least 95% coverage for all of the vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for children in kindergarten. These results underscore the effectiveness of school-entry requirements in increasing vaccination coverage but highlight a need for more standardized vaccination reporting among states.