Many U.S. kids not receiving flu vaccine

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Just one in five children between 6 and 23 months of age were fully vaccinated against influenza during the 2006-2007 season, according to findings in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released Thursday.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended vaccination for this age group in 2004, and currently recommends that children younger than 9 years of age receive two doses of the influenza vaccine, spaced 4 or more weeks apart, to achieve full coverage, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note.

The current report, based on an analysis of the 2007 National Immunization Survey, indicates that only 31.8 percent of 6-23 month-old children received one or more doses of the influenza vaccine and just 21.3 percent were fully vaccinated.

Rhode Island had the highest vaccination rates with 59.6 and 47.6 percent of young children receiving one or more vaccine doses and being fully vaccinated, respectively. At the other end of the spectrum were Arkansas, Mississippi, and Nevada where the corresponding rates did not exceed 17 and 10 percent.

"The findings underscore the need to increase interest in and access to influenza vaccination for more children in the United States," Dr. T. A. Santibanez and colleagues from the CDC state. "Further study is needed to identify knowledge deficits or logistical barriers that might contribute to continued low influenza vaccination coverage among young children."

SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, September 25, 2008.