CDC: Kids vaccinated for hepatitis a rose

ATLANTA, July 2 (UPI) -- Routine vaccination of U.S. children for hepatitis has almost doubled since 2006, federal health officials said Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report said the report is the first look at U.S. hepatitis A coverage since the 2006 recommendation that all children ages 12-23 months be immunized against hepatitis A.

Before the 2006 recommendation, routine hepatitis A immunization was only recommended for children living in areas where hepatitis A rates were consistently above the national average, the report said.

The report said one-dose hepatitis A vaccination coverage among children ages 24-35 months increased from 26.3 percent in 2006 to 47.4 percent in 2007 and vaccination coverage rates rose most dramatically in areas where hepatitis A vaccination was not previously recommended.

Subsequent reporting of hepatitis A vaccination coverage of two or more doses in children will provide a more complete picture of how well children are being protected from vaccine-preventable diseases, the report said.