Parents Tardy Getting Kids' Shots

New research shows that many children in the U.S. don't get recommended shots early enough.

There are several recommended immunizations against childhood diseases. Some of them require multiple doses throughout the first 18 months of life. The injections save lives and prevent outbreaks of disease.

The combination vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) requires four shots. Polio requires three; hepatitis, three; and haemophilus influenzae b, three to four. Infants also need one shot for chicken pox, and kids need the first of two combination shots for measles, mumps, and rubella. The pneumoccal conjugate vaccine and yearly infuenza shot are also now recommended.

That's a lot of shots. About 18 doses of vaccine need to be given by the time an infant reaches a year-and-a-half. Although vaccination rates are high in the United States for kids ages 2 and 3, studies show that too few babies get the shots early enough.

The latest research, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that a third of U.S. 2-year-olds didn't receive their vaccines on time.

More than a third of the children were under-vaccinated for more than six months during their first two years of life. More than a quarter were delayed for at least four vaccines.

It's important that children get their vaccinations on time during the first two years, because that's the time when they are at the highest risk for many of these serious diseases.

Athough many childhood diseases have been eradicated in the U.S., they still pose a threat in other parts of the world, and can reappear here if we don't vaccinate infants on time. Measles has popped up in this country in the recent past and whooping cough is on the increase in recent decades, too.

The researchers said certain groups of children were more likely to be delayed in their vaccinations, including children whose mothers are unmarried or have less than a college education, children in households with multiple children, children who have public vaccination providers, and children who visit more than one vaccination provider. There is also racial disparity in vaccination rates.

Parents should be educated about the importance of vaccinations and keep track of a child's vaccinations, and keep appointments with the pediatrician. If you change doctors, bring your records, and keep a record of vaccinations on a card.

The researchers also suggest ways doctors can help, such as sending out appointment reminders and extending office hours to accommodate busy parents.