Thousands of American children do not receive vaccines, survey reveals | Total health

According to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 100,000 young children have not received any vaccine against any of the 14 diseases for which injections are recommended.

"It's pretty nice. It's something we need to better understand – and reduce, "said Dr. Amanda Cohn of the CDC.

Most young children – 70% – had all their vaccines. The new estimate is based on the finding that in 2017, 1.3% of children born in 2015 were completely unvaccinated. This is up from the 0.9% observed in a similar assessment of children born in 2011. A survey conducted in 2001 with a different methodology indicated that this proportion was around 0.3%.

Young children are particularly vulnerable to the complications of vaccine-preventable diseases, some of which can be life-threatening.

The latest figures come from a telephone survey conducted last year with parents of about 15,000 toddlers. The 100,000 estimate refers to the 2017 vaccination status of children born in 2015 and 2016.

A separate CDC study found that overall immunization rates in older, preschool children were still stable, with nearly 95% of complete vaccines.

The researchers did not ask why parents did not vaccinate their children.

A minority of them did not have health insurance. Health officials said it was a surprise because a government program is funding vaccines for uninsured children.

But the majority was assured. What is happening is not clear, but one factor may be the misperception of some parents about the safety and importance of vaccines, some experts said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department Receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Scientific Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.