Decline in Vaccination Coverage by Age 24 Months and Vaccination Inequities Among Children Born in 2020 and 2021 - National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2021-2023.

Abstract

Data from the National Immunization Survey-Child (NIS-Child) were analyzed to estimate coverage with childhood vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices among U.S. children by age 24 months. Coverage with nearly all vaccines was lower among children born in 2020 and 2021 than it was among those born in 2018 and 2019, with declines ranging from 1.3 to 7.8 percentage points. Analyses of NIS-Child data for earlier birth cohorts have not revealed such widespread declines in routine childhood vaccination coverage. Coverage among children born during 2020-2021 varied by race and ethnicity, health insurance status, poverty status, urbanicity, and jurisdiction. Compared with non-Hispanic White children, coverage with four of the 17 vaccine measures was lower among non-Hispanic Black or African American children as well as Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native children. Coverage was also generally lower among those covered by Medicaid or other nonprivate insurance, uninsured children, children living below the federal poverty level, and children living in rural areas. Coverage varied widely by jurisdiction, especially coverage with ≥2 doses of influenza vaccine. Children born during 2020-2021 were born during or after the period of major disruption of primary care from the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers should review children's histories and recommend needed vaccinations during every clinical encounter. Addressing financial barriers, access issues, vaccine hesitancy, and vaccine-related misinformation can also help to increase coverage, reduce disparities, and protect all children from vaccine-preventable diseases. Strategies that have been found effective include implementation of standing orders and reminder and recall systems, strong physician recommendations to vaccinate, and use of immunization information systems to identify areas of lower coverage that could benefit from targeted interventions to increase immunization rates.