Vaccination Coverage Among Children in Kindergarten - United States, 2015-16 School Year

Immunization programs conduct annual kindergarten vaccination assessments to monitor vaccination coverage among school children. Although state-level vaccination coverage is high and exemptions are low, some children in kindergarten remain undervaccinated. Among the 50 states and the District of Col...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2016, Vol.65 (39), p.1057
Main Authors: Seither, Ranee, Calhoun, Kayla, Mellerson, Jenelle, Knighton, Cynthia L, Street, Erica, Dietz, Vance, Underwood, J Michael
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Censuses
Chicken pox
Enrollments
Immunization
Kindergarten
Preschool education
Schools
Students
Tax exemptions
Vaccines
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Summary:Immunization programs conduct annual kindergarten vaccination assessments to monitor vaccination coverage among school children. Although state-level vaccination coverage is high and exemptions are low, some children in kindergarten remain undervaccinated. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC), median vaccination coverage was 94.6% for 2 doses of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) and 94.2% for local requirements for diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine among 49 states and DC. Among the 42 states and DC with a 2-dose varicella vaccine requirement, varicella vaccine coverage was 94.3%. Thirty-two states reported an increase in 2-dose MMR coverage. The median exemption level remained low (1.9%) but exemption rates varied by state. In 12 of 23 states that reported data on grace period or provisional enrollment for children who were not fully vaccinated, the proportion of kindergartners under a grace period or provisional enrollment was higher than the proportion that were exempt from one or more vaccines.
ISSN:0149-2195
1545-861X