For individual vaccines, the vaccination coverage levels across the racial ethnic groups for children living below the poverty level were up to 13 percentage points lower than children living at or above the poverty level. However, minority children still lag behind white children when overall vaccination rates are compared. While 79 percent of white children have received the full series of vaccinations by age 2, only 74 percent of African-American children and 71 percent of Hispanic children are fully vaccinated against childhood disease. Each day in the United States, some 11,000 children are born. Parents and our immunization partners everywhere must continue their work to improve immunization levels.
Every parent wants the best for their children's health.
This is the first time, CDC has reported national immunization levels by racial and ethnic category. The National Immunization Survey is a critical tool in monitoring public health status for children of all populations. The CII was launched in August 1993.