Vaccine coverage better but still not optimal for US young people

PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 564 - 18 Oct 2008

Vaccine coverage better but stillnot optimal for US young peopleImmunisation coverage rates for preteens and teens

are increasing for routinely recommended vaccines, butmost still do not have all of the recommendedimmunisations, according to 2007 estimates released bythe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC).

"The overall trends are good news", says director ofthe Division of Immunization Services at CDC’s NationalCenter for Immunization and Respiratory DiseasesDr Lance Rodewald. Although more preteens andteenagers are being protected against serious,sometimes deadly diseases, "we remain short of ourgoals – for almost all of these vaccines we want at least90 percent of adolescents to be fully immunized",asserts Dr Rodewald. The following findings wereincluded in the 2007 research:• 25.1% of adolescent females had received at least

one dose of HPV vaccine.• coverage with one dose of varicella vaccine was

high, at 75.7%, but coverage with two doses waslow, at 18.8% among teens and preteens without aprevious history of the disease

• 32.4% of preteens and teens surveyed had receivedmeningococcal vaccine 4 vaccination, up from11.7% in 2006

• 30.4% had received the tetanus-diphtheria-acellularpertussis vaccine, up from 10.8% in 2006.

Dr Rodewald encourages parents to take theirpreteens and teenagers for routine medical checkups asa way to ensure they receive the recommendedvaccinations.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nation’s Teen Vaccination CoverageIncreasing, But Below 2010 Goals. Media Release : 9 Oct 2008. Available from:URL: http://www.cdc.gov 809093915

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 18 Oct 2008 No. 5641173-5503/10/0564-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved