Record Child Vaccination Rates Reported
But Official Says CDC Still 'Struggling' With Whooping Cough Cases
July 26, 2005 -- U.S. officials on Tuesday reported record high rates of childhood vaccinations in 2004, but they continue to struggle with low use of vaccines by seniors.
Just under 81% of children under 3 years of age received all of the government-recommended vaccinations last year, the CDC reported. That's an uptick from the 79.4% who got them in 2003.
Vaccination rates were higher for white children than for minorities. Eighty-five percent of whites but only 76% of blacks and 81.2% of Hispanics were fully immunized, according to CDC recommendations.
Officials said they were encouraged by increasing immunization rates among children. But they acknowledged that they are still seeing high rates of at least one vaccine-preventable illness.
CDC Director Julie M. Gerberding, MD, called the 2004 vaccination rates "terrific news."
Government recommendations call for 14 shots against nine contagious diseases -- including measles, mumps, pneumococcal meningitis, and diphtheria -- when children are between 19 and 35 months of age. Some children also receive vaccination against influenza.
"We enjoy record low levels of these devastating diseases," said Stephen L. Cochi, MD, acting director of the CDC's national immunization program.
Florida led the country with an 89% child vaccination rate, followed by Connecticut (88%) and Rhode Island (87%). Nevada had the nation's lowest child vaccine coverage at 68%.
Whooping Cough Still Widespread
Health authorities are "still struggling" with high rates of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, Cochi said. Nearly 19,000 cases were reported to the CDC last year, including 15 deaths in infants who most likely contracted it from infected adolescents or adults.
The FDA earlier this year approved a pair of pertussis booster shots designed to re-establish immunity in adolescents who were vaccinated as children.
"Nobody got pertussis any more, I thought," said Monika Burke, a Philadelphia woman who's 16-year-old daughter, Sofie Starcevic, contracted a serious case of whooping cough last year.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious, potentially serious illness in adolescents and adults. It can cause prolonged cough and missed days at school and work. Whooping cough is more frequently severe and can even be fatal in babies, particularly in infants too young to be fully vaccinated.