Rate of 2-Year-Olds Immunized Jumps 56% in Six Years

August is Nation­al Immu­niza­tion Aware­ness Month — and the lat­est immu­niza­tion rates report­ed on the KIDS COUNT Data Cen­ter indi­cate that there’s cause to cel­e­brate. That’s because 75% of 2‑year-olds across the coun­try were immu­nized in 2015.

This sta­tis­tic, which rep­re­sents the most recent full year of data avail­able, is a dras­tic improve­ment from 2009, when just 48% of 2‑year-olds were immunized.

At the state lev­el, immu­niza­tion rates range from a low of 65% in West Vir­ginia to a high of 84% in Con­necti­cut. Sev­en states total — Delaware, Iowa, Mass­a­chu­setts, New Jer­sey, North Car­oli­na, North Dako­ta and Con­necti­cut — have hit or sur­passed the 80% mark for immu­niz­ing 2‑year-olds.

As a new school year approach­es, par­ents across the nation are work­ing to ensure that their children’s vac­ci­na­tions are up to date. Many schools require their stu­dents to be ful­ly immu­nized become com­ing to class. The sci­ence sup­port­ing this man­date is clear: The right vac­ci­na­tions at the right time help pro­tect chil­dren against severe ill­ness­es while yield­ing long-term ben­e­fits, such as improved school atten­dance and reduced fam­i­ly stress. Time­ly vac­ci­na­tions are also impor­tant to main­tain­ing a community’s health, accord­ing to research.

Learn more health data — at the state and nation­al lev­el — by vis­it­ing the KIDS COUNT Data Center:

• 2‑year-olds who were immunized