Vaccination levels for kids enter school high: report

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than half of the states in the US already meet the "Healthy People 2010" goal of vaccinating at least 95 percent of children entering school for the first time, based on the 2005-2006 school year, according to investigators at the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC).

This excellent level of coverage is due, at least in part, to state laws requiring proof of vaccination at school entry, Dr. C Stanwyck and associates at the CDC note in their report, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that by school age, children should have been fully vaccinated against hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliovirus, measles, mumps, rubella and varicella.

Stanwyck's team analyzed the 49 reports, submitted by all states except Illinois and Wyoming, for the 2005-2006 school year.

Twenty-nine (57 percent) states maintained 95 percent coverage for the newest vaccine, against varicella. Coverage of other vaccines also varied by state: 61 percent of states had at least 95 percent coverage for measles and hepatitis B vaccinations, and 67 percent had the same for DTP/DtaP/DT.

SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, October 20, 2006.