CDC Reports on Vaccination Coverage of Children Entering School

One of the nation's health goals for 2010 is to have 95 percent or higher vaccination coverage of kindergarten and first grade children for the following vaccines: hepatitis B; diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis (DTP); diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP); diphtheria-tetanus (DT); poliovirus; measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR); and varicella. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from 48 states and the District of Columbia for the 2005–2006 school year to determine vaccination rates among children entering school. The analysis was published in the October 20, 2006, issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and can be found athttp://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5541a3.htm.

All states (except Wyoming and Illinois) and the District of Columbia submitted assessments based on public schools; 47 also included private schools, and 17 included home schools. Various methods were used to report vaccination coverage. Because of varied vaccination timing and local requirements, the CDC evaluated the up-to-date status of vaccinations rather than the number of doses received at the time data were collected.

Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia (71 percent) reported a 90 percent or higher coverage rate for the newest recommended vaccine (varicella), with 29 of those states reporting a 95 percent or higher rate. MMR and hepatitis vaccines had a 95 percent or higher coverage rate in 31 states (61 percent), and DTP, DTaP, and DT vaccines had a 95 percent or higher coverage rate in 34 states (67 percent).

More than one half of the states that participated in the study have already achieved the goal of 95 percent or higher vaccination coverage, and those that have not appear to be making steps in that direction. However, these data may be over- or underestimated because reporting methods and vaccination requirements varied from state to state.