One in three two-year-olds in United States have not received all recommended childhood vaccines, study finds

Source: RTI International

Approximately 34 percent of children in the United States do not receive all doses of vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) by age 2, according to a new study by researchers at RTI Health Solutions, a business unit of RTI International.

This is consistent with findings reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The ACIP recommends most children receive a series of routine immunizations, consisting of 19 doses of vaccines administered at age-specific intervals between birth and age 2 to protect against 11 diseases.

The study, published in press in Vaccine, used data from the 2012 National Immunization Survey, an annual survey conducted by the CDC, to examine vaccination coverage among a nationally representative sample of nearly 12,000 2-year-olds in the United States. Researchers estimated the proportion of children who completed the ACIP recommended number of doses by 8, 18 and 24 months of age (completion rates); and whether each dose was administered at age-appropriate times between birth and 24 months (compliance rates).

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