falling short of the Healthy People 2020 goal of 80% complete vaccination, according to Bethany K. Sederdahl, MPH, and her associates at Emory University, Atlanta.
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In an analysis published in Pediatrics of data from 14,571 children included in the 2014 National Immunization Survey, 71% of children received full vaccination for rotavirus, 15% received partial vaccination, and 14% received no vaccination. Children whose mothers were not college graduates, lived in households with at least four children, or were uninsured at any point had an increased likelihood of being unvaccinated; African American children also faced an increased risk of being unvaccinated.
Among the unvaccinated, 72% had at least one missed opportunity according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices schedule, and 83% had at least one missed opportunity according to the World Health Organization schedule. For the partially vaccinated, 54% at least one missed opportunity according to the ACIP schedule, and 96% had at least one missed opportunity according to the WHO schedule. While poorer socioeconomic conditions were associated with the risk of being unvaccinated, children who were partially vaccinated and who missed vaccination opportunities according to the ACIP-recommended schedule were more likely to have mothers with a college degree or an income of more than $75,000.
According to the investigators, if all missed opportunities for vaccination according to the ACIP schedule were addressed, coverage would improve from 71% to 81%; if all opportunities according to the WHO schedule were addressed, coverage would increase to 94%.
“Low rotavirus vaccine uptake may be attributable to both socioeconomic barriers and possibly vaccine hesitancy. Understanding the barriers to rotavirus vaccine uptake and developing effective public health measures to promote vaccine use will be essential to reducing rotavirus morbidity in the United States,” Ms. Sederdahl and her associates wrote.
The study received no external funding. One coauthor reported receiving personal fees from AbbVie, funds to conduct clinical research from Merck, and that his institution receives funds to conduct clinical research from MedImmune, Regeneron, PaxVax, Pfizer, Merck, Novavax, Sanofi Pasteur, and Micron Technology.
SOURCE: Sederdahl BK et al. Pediatrics. 2019 Apr 25. doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-2498.