Vaccination visits in early childhood - Just one more visit to be fully vaccinated

Background: This study characterizes the healthcare visits at which childre n receive vaccinations, including the number of these visits and the number of vaccinations that are administered. Methods: The 1999 National Immunization Survey (NIS) is a nationally repres entative sample of children aged 19 to 35 months, verified by provider reco rds, that is conducted to obtain estimates of vaccination coverage rates. W e describe the number of healthcare visits in which one or more vaccination s were given, the number of vaccinations given at these visits, and the num ber of visits and vaccinations needed for an underimmunized child to comple te the recommended vaccination series. Results: Of the children who did not receive all doses of the recommended v accinations (4:3:1:3:3 vaccination series), three fourths had four or more immunization visits. Vaccination coverage increased as the number of visits increased, and children who had completed the series were more likely to r eceive multiple vaccinations than those who had not. Most children (70.7%) received a maximum of four vaccinations in any immunization visit. The majo rity of children (73.5%) who had not completed the 4:3:1:3:3 vaccination se ries needed only a single visit to complete the series. The majority (61.7% ) of children who needed only one visit also needed only one additional vac cination. Conclusion: While estimated national coverage for all recommended vaccinati ons is considerably below the Healthy People 2000 and Healthy People 2010 g oal of 90%, achieving this goal is in essence just one visit away. If all c hildren who needed one more visit were to receive that final visit, the nat ional coverage among children 19 to 35 months for all recommended vaccinati ons would be 93%.