National, state, and local area vaccination coverage among children aged 19-35 months--United States, 2007

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Immunization Practices

Background:

• The National Immunization Survey (NIS) tracks vaccination coverage in children aged 19-35 months across the US.
• Healthy People 2010 set vaccination targets, including 90% for individual vaccines and 80% for the combined 4:3:1:3:3:1 series.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report vaccination coverage estimates from the 2007 National Immunization Survey.
• To assess progress towards Healthy People 2010 vaccination targets.
• To identify disparities in vaccination coverage.

Main Methods:

• The 2007 NIS collected vaccination data from children born between January 2004 and July 2006.
• Coverage estimates were calculated for individual vaccines and the combined 4:3:1:3:3:1 series.
• Analysis included comparisons across states, urban areas, racial/ethnic groups, and poverty levels.

Main Results:

• Most routinely recommended vaccines achieved over 90% coverage.
• The 4:3:1:3:3:1 series coverage was 77.4%, a slight increase from 2006.
• Significant geographic variability in coverage was observed, ranging from 63.1% to 91.3%.
• Coverage was similar across racial/ethnic groups after adjusting for poverty, but lower for children below the poverty level for some vaccines.

Conclusions:

• High vaccination coverage is generally maintained among young children in the United States.
• Socioeconomic disparities, particularly poverty, remain a factor influencing vaccination rates for certain vaccines.
• Continued efforts are necessary to address these disparities and maintain high overall vaccination coverage to prevent infectious diseases.