Vaccine rate for U.S. children is high

ATLANTA, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- At least 90 percent of U.S. children have been vaccinated for all one of the individual vaccines in the recommended series, health officials said.

Estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that more than 77 percent of U.S. children were fully vaccinated with all vaccines in the series of recommended vaccines and there were no differences in coverage among any racial or ethnic group for the complete series.

Less than 1 percent of children had received no vaccines by age 19 months to 35 months, the report said.

The recommended vaccine 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; 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 through age 2.

The fourth dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine is the only vaccine of the recommended series that hasn't reached 90-percent coverage.

Estimated coverage for all vaccine series ranged from 91.3 percent in Maryland to 63.1 percent in Nevada.