Approximately 34% 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.
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This is 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 CDC. 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).
Researchers also estimated approximately 77 percent of children were non-compliant with the ACIP schedule, receiving one or more of the 19 recommended doses outside of its respective age-appropriate window, or never receiving the dose at all by 24 months of age.
Further, 43 percent of the sample was non-compliant with one or more doses in the recommended schedule for a total of 7 months or more, between birth and 24 months of age.
Western states had the lowest rates of completion and compliance. Southern states had the highest completion rates, yet compliance rates were moderate, indicating that children were receiving vaccines late, but catching up by age 2.
The most undervaccinated state was Alaska where 55 percent of children completed all recommended doses by age 2; whereas, Mississippi had the highest completion rate at 77 percent.
The study was sponsored and co-authored by GlaxoSmithKline. ■