19M children worldwide don't get vaccines

ATLANTA, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Global vaccination has reached record-high levels, but more than 19 million children don't get some or all childhood immunizations, U.S. officials say.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report said in 2010, an estimated 109.4 million infants -- 85 percent of global births -- had received at least three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, the highest number ever reported.

"Coverage with the other routinely recommended childhood vaccines was 90 percent for Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine, 86 percent for the third dose of poliovirus vaccine and 85 percent for measles-containing vaccine," the report said. "However, approximately 19.3 million children did not receive some or all of the routinely recommended childhood vaccines, leaving them susceptible to vaccine-preventable causes of disease and death."

Strengthening vaccination delivery strategies and ensuring continued funding for vaccination programs would reduce childhood morbidity and mortality, CDC health officials said.