Rotavirus vaccination coverage among infants aged 5 months - immunization information system sentinel sites, United...

In February 2006, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended routine vaccination of all U.S. infants with 3 doses of a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine administered at ages 2, 4, and 6 months. In June 2008, ACIP updated its recommendations to include use of a second rotavirus vaccine, a 2-dose monovalent vaccine, administered at ages 2 and 4 months. The maximum age for the first dose of either rotavirus vaccine (RV) is 14 weeks and 6 days. CDC recently analyzed data from Immunization Information System (IIS) sentinel sites 1) to assess trends in coverage with >or=1 dose of RV during June 2006--June 2009 among infants aged 5 months and 2) to compare RV coverage in the second quarter of 2009 with that of two other routinely-recommended vaccines for U.S. infants: diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, and 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). RV coverage increased following vaccine introduction and, in June 2009, averaged 72% at the eight currently participating IIS sentinel sites. However, >or=1 dose RV coverage among infants aged 5 months was 13% lower than the average coverage with >or=1 dose of DTaP and PCV7 at these same sites. Lower RV coverage could reflect typical new-vaccine coverage dynamics, the presence of RV-specific barriers, or both. Identifying and reducing barriers to vaccination and educating parents and providers about the health benefits of rotavirus vaccination should increase coverage and help prevent severe rotavirus disease.