Childhood Immunization Rates Remain At Or Above Record Levels

Childhood Immunization Rates

The nation's childhood immunization rates remain at or near record levels for routinely recommended vaccines, according to 2006 estimates released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This continues the trend of more children being protected against vaccine-preventable diseases each year.

According to the CDC's annual National Immunization Survey (NIS), the percentage of U.S. children 19 to 35 months of age who have received the recommended series of childhood vaccines was 77 percent in 2006, statistically similar to the 76.1 percent in 2005.

The recommended series consists of four doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, 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. This set of immunizations begins shortly after a child is born and continues up to two years of age.