Vaccination coverage among children enrolled in Head Start programs and licensed child care centers and entering school--United States and selected reporting areas, 1999-2000 school year.

Undervaccinated children enrolled in child care centers and schools are vulnerable to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease. One of the national health objectives for 2010 is to maintain > or = 95% vaccination coverage among children attending licensed child care centers and kindergarten through postsecondary school (objective 14-23). To identify children who have not been vaccinated in compliance with state law, all states, five large cities (Chicago, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, and San Antonio), and eight territories conduct annual vaccination assessment surveys of coverage with basic vaccines among children enrolled in the Head Start program, enrolled in licensed child care centers, and entering kindergarten or first grade. These survey results are aggregated and analyzed by CDC to estimate national vaccination coverage. This report summarizes estimated coverage with the basic vaccines: > or = 3 doses of poliovirus vaccine, > or = 3 tetanus containing doses (diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine [DTaP]), diphtheria and tetanus toxoids (DT), or tetanus toxoids (Td), and 1 dose each of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines forthe September 1999-June 2000 school year. Results indicate that among reporting programs, the mean coverage for all vaccines was >95% for the surveyed population. However, coverage varied from state to state, and approximately 30% of states did not submit reports. High rates of vaccination coverage must be maintained to prevent transmission of vaccine-preventable disease. States should conduct yearly assessments to maintain these rates among preschool- and school-aged children.