ATLANTA, Jul 2, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Routine vaccination of U.S. children
for hepatitis has almost doubled since 2006, federal health officials said
Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly
Report said the report is the first look at U.S. hepatitis A coverage since the
2006 recommendation that all children ages 12-23 months be immunized against
hepatitis A.
Before the 2006 recommendation, routine hepatitis A immunization was only
recommended for children living in areas where hepatitis A rates were
consistently above the national average, the report said.
The report said one-dose hepatitis A vaccination coverage among children ages
24-35 months increased from 26.3 percent in 2006 to 47.4 percent in 2007 and
vaccination coverage rates rose most dramatically in areas where hepatitis A
vaccination was not previously recommended.
Subsequent reporting of hepatitis A vaccination coverage of two or more doses in
children will provide a more complete picture of how well children are being
protected from vaccine-preventable diseases, the report said.
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