Click here for more information on CDC Immunization Tracking System – Yearly Reports
The percentage of children currently receiving two or more consecutive vaccines and meeting recommended immunization requirements remains relatively unchanged. Compared to 5 years ago, the percentage of children who received both the meningococcal B vaccine and the DTaP vaccine — the vaccines that protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough — rose slightly, from 50 percent to 52 percent.
In addition, 24 percent of US children currently receive two or more doses of DTaP vaccine, up from 19 percent 5 years ago.
Why? Two of the increases are associated with the rollout of new vaccinations, which account for about a fifth of the increase. Rates of DTaP vaccine must be increased from 1.2 million to 1.8 million doses, and meningococcal B vaccine must increase from 0.8 million to 1.4 million doses. These vaccines are recommended for children who have not had one or both doses of the DTaP vaccine.
A combination of other reasons are at play, as well. A small decrease in both the percentage of children who had one dose of DTaP vaccine and the percentage of children who had two doses of DTaP vaccine can be attributed to a reduction in non-medical exemptions for the two vaccines.
Tracking Covid-19 vaccines in the US
The CDC reports annual results for the vaccination requirements and number of children in the US that have one or more doses of four vaccines: DTaP, DTaP+MenB, DTaP+, MenV+MenB, and the quadrivalent tetanus toxoid, bivalent tetanus toxoid, diphtheria toxoid, and pertussis, or Tdap vaccines. The system tracks these data every year.
The CDC’s tracking of immunization rates and vaccinations provides information on how the vaccines compare to national goals, state standards, and to each state’s individual requirements. It shows exactly how well the nation is following the recent expansion of hepatitis B vaccine requirements.