CDC: More Young Children Vaccinated; Adolescents Way Behind

The latest news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is mostly good news. Their latest report shows that the rates of childhood immunization is at or near record levels.

This is an annual survey and this years results continue the upward trend of recent years and reflects the figures from 2006. It shows that 77% of children between 19 and 35 months old have received the entire recommended series of vaccines. In 2005, the total was 76.1%. The immunizations in the series include four doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine plus, three doses of polio vaccine, one or more doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, three doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib), three doses of hepatitis B vaccine and one or more doses of varicella or chickenpox vaccine. The immunization begins right after birth and continues until the child is 2 years old.

The highest increases were in the number children who received the chicken pox and polio vaccines in 2006 as compared to those who received them in 2005. The number of children who received three doses of the chicken pox vaccine increase for 82.8% to 87% and from 53.7% to 68.4% for those who got four doses. The number of children who got the polio vaccine increased from 91.7% to 92.9% in the same period of time.

Some states are doing much better than others in getting the recommended number of vaccinations done. The state with the highest number is Massachusetts coming in with 86% and the state with the lowest number is Nevada coming in with 59.5%. The city with the best numbers is Boston Massachusetts with 81.4% and the city with the worse numbers is Detroit Michigan with 62.5%.

They also took a look at the figures from different demographic standpoints. The results show that children in the group who live at or below the poverty level are less likely to get all their vaccinations. The same results showed for black children.