National, state, and local area vaccination coverage among children aged 19-35 months --- United States, 2009

Since 1994, the National Immunization Survey (NIS) has been collecting data to monitor childhood immunization coverage. This report describes the 2009 NIS coverage estimates for children born during January 2006--July 2008 and focuses on the more recently recommended vaccines (i.e., hepatitis B [HepB] vaccine birth dose, hepatitis A vaccine [HepA], pneumococcal conjugate vaccine [PCV], and rotavirus vaccine) for children aged 19--35 months. The most recent NIS data indicate that vaccination coverage increased in 2009 compared with 2008 for HepB birth dose (from 55.3% to 60.8%) and HepA (from 40.4% to 46.6%), but coverage for PCV (≥4 doses) remained stable (80.4%). Full coverage for rotavirus vaccine was 43.9% among children born within 2 years of licensure. Coverage for poliovirus (92.8%), measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) (90.0%), hepatitis B (HepB) (92.4%), and varicella (VAR) (89.6%) vaccines continued to be at or near the national health objective of 90%, although coverage for MMR and HepB vaccines decreased slightly in 2009. The percentage of children who have not received any vaccines remained low (<1%). Parents and primary-care providers continued to ensure that children were vaccinated, in spite of interim recommendations to suspend the booster dose of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib) because of a national shortage, and heightened public awareness of controversies in vaccine safety.