Greatest increase in on-time vaccination seen for children with more than $75,000 in annual family income<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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MONDAY, April 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) — From 2011 to 2021, there was an increase in vaccination timeliness among U.S. children aged 0 to 19 months, according to a study published online April 12 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Sophia R. Newcomer, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the University of Montana in Missoula, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study analyzing nationally representative data from the 2011 to 2021 National Immunization Survey-Child (NIS-Child) to measure vaccination timeliness among U.S. children aged 0 to 19 months. The surveys included 179,154 children, of whom 31.4, 32.4, and 30.2 percent lived above the federal poverty level with more than $75,000 in annual family income, lived at or above the poverty level with $75,000 or less in annual family income, and lived below the poverty level, respectively.<\/p>\n The researchers observed a decrease in the median average days undervaccinated for the combined seven-vaccine series, from 22.3 days in the 2011 survey to 11.9 days in the 2021 survey. There was an increase seen in the prevalence of on-time receipt of the combined seven-vaccine series, from 22.5 to 35.6 percent. The mean annual increase in on-time vaccination was 4.6, 2.8, and 2.0 percent for children with more than $75,000 in annual family income, for children living at or above the poverty level with $75,000 or less in annual family income, and for children living below the poverty level, respectively.<\/p>\n “Disparities in timely vaccination signal the need for an increased focus on access to and quality of immunization services for lower-income families and children without private health insurance,” the authors write.<\/p>\n