CDC: U.S. teen vaccination rate higher

ATLANTA, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. preteen and teen immunization rates have increased for routinely recommended vaccines, but most teens don't have all immunizations, health officials say.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report estimates for 2007 vaccine coverage levels for three or more doses of hepatitis B vaccine and two or more doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine were more than 80 percent.

Coverage with one dose of varicella vaccine was high at 75.7 percent. But coverage with two doses was low at 18.8 percent among preteens and teens without a previous history of disease; 32.4 percent of preteens and teens surveyed had received meningococcal conjugate vaccine vaccination; 30.4 percent had received tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis vaccination and 25.1 percent of adolescent females had received at least one dose of the human papillomavirus vaccine.

However, the nation′s Healthy People 2010 goals for preteens and teens are not being met, the report said.

The goals include 90 percent coverage for preteens and teens ages 13 to 15 -- with three doses of hepatitis B vaccine; two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine; one dose of either tetanus-diphtheria or tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis vaccine -- and one dose of varicella vaccine for those who have not previously had chickenpox.