Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
A small but growing proportion of the youngest children in the United States have not been vaccinated against any disease, a new national report found (Source: “Thousands of Young U.S. Children Get No Vaccines, Survey Finds,” Associated Press via ABC News, October 11, 2018).
An estimated 100,000 young children have not had a vaccination against any of the 14 diseases for which shots are recommended, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released October 11.
Most young children, 70%, have had all their shots. The new estimate is based on findings that, in 2017, 1.3% of the children born in 2015 were completely unvaccinated. That’s up from the 0.9% seen in an earlier similar assessment of the kids born in 2011. A 2001 survey with a different methodology suggested the proportion was in the neighborhood of 0.3%.
A separate CDC study found that overall vaccination rates for older, kindergarten-age children continue to hold steady, with close to 95% fully vaccinated.
The researchers didn’t ask why parents didn’t get their kids vaccinated.