A new study by RTI Health Solutions has revealed roughly one third (34 percent) of children in the United States do not receive all doses of vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices by age 2.
RTI Health Solutions is a business unit of RTI International, an independent, nonprofit institute that provides research, development and technical services to government and commercial organizations.
The RTI Health Solutions researchers who conducted the study used data from the CDC's 2012 National Immunization Survey to examine vaccination coverage among a nationally representative sample of nearly 12,000 2-year-olds in the U.S.
Highlighted below are three additional findings from the survey.
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Roughly 77 percent of children had not received all the doses recommended on the ACIP schedule, receiving one or more of the 19 recommended doses outside of its respective age-appropriate window, or never receiving the dose at all by 24 months of age.
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Forty-three percent of the children were non-compliant with one or more doses in the recommended schedule for a total of 7 months or more, between birth and 24 months of age.
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Western states had the lowest rates of completion and compliance while southern states had the highest completion rates. By state, Alaska was the most undervaccinated state, with 55 percent of children completing all recommended doses by age 2, and Mississippi had the highest completion rate at 77 percent.
To access an infographic with more study findings, click here.