Fewer young children are receiving common vaccinations, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Of children born in 2020 or 2021, 1.2 percent have received no vaccinations at age 2, compared to 0.9 percent of children born in 2018 or 2019 at age 2, the CDC says in the paper.
Coverage of each recommended vaccine has also dropped, said the researchers, all of whom are employed by the CDC.
Just 91.9 percent of children born in 2020 or 2021 have received at least three doses of a polio vaccine, for instance, down 1.5 percent from those born in 2018 or 2019. Influenza vaccination was down from 63.4 percent to 55.6 percent, the largest reduction recorded.
The coverage estimates were arrived at through the CDC’s National Immunization Survey, based on answers given by vaccine providers for 28,688 children. The providers sometimes provide answers for children younger than 2, prompting CDC staffers to use the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate coverage.
The CDC recommends dozens of vaccine doses for children before age 1, and additional doses in a child’s early years.
That includes an annual dose of an influenza shot.
When breaking down the data by ethnicity, the study authors found that white children were most likely to have no vaccinations, with 1.4 percent having none compared to 0.9 percent of black children and 1 percent of Hispanic children. Coverage of certain vaccines, such as the full schedule of the rotavirus vaccine, was lower among minorities.
The decline in child vaccinations could stem from parents’ beliefs, according to surveys, including a 2023 Pew Research survey that found a majority of respondents with children aged zero to four believe that not all childhood vaccines are necessary.
Authorities have recorded decreased uptake for influenza vaccination among a number of populations after top U.S. health officials acknowledged they don’t work well.
