Hepatitis A vaccination coverage among U.S. children aged 12-23 months - immunization information system sentinel...

Hepatitis A vaccine was first licensed as a 2-dose vaccine for children aged >or=24 months in 1995. In 1996 and 1999, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended routine hepatitis A vaccination for children aged >or=24 months in communities with the highest rates of the disease. In August 2005, the minimum age for which the vaccine was licensed was lowered to 12 months, and in May 2006, ACIP recommended routine vaccination of all children aged 12-23 months, regardless of risk category or location. As a result, hepatitis A incidence in the United States reached a historic low in 2007, the most recent year for which data are available. To assess hepatitis A vaccine coverage among children aged 12-23 months from 2006 through 2009, CDC used data from eight Immunization Information System (IIS) sentinel sites. Average (unweighted) hepatitis A vaccination coverage with >or=1 dose at the sites increased from 17% in 2006 to 47% in 2009. Average full vaccination coverage with >or=2 vaccine doses through age 23 months increased from 1% in 2006 to 15% in 2009. Vaccination coverage with >or=1 dose increased the most during 2006 through the first quarter of 2007, after which the rate of increase slowed. The 2006 ACIP recommendations for routine hepatitis A vaccination of all children aged 12-23 months resulted in improved coverage, but coverage has plateaued. Immunization programs and vaccine providers should encourage hepatitis A vaccination of all children beginning at age 12 months.