Recently, the CDC reported that vaccination rates by age 2 decreased for five vaccines and in certain demographic groups over the most recent years. However, overall vaccine coverage by age 2 was similar between kids born in 2021-2022 and 2019-2020.

This report does not include children who have been born since the CDC vastly revised the vaccine schedule, moving many vaccines from “recommended” to “shared clinical decision-making.” We will need to wait 2-3 years before we have data on whether the CDC vaccine schedule changes will impact children’s vaccination rates.

This post will examine the numbers in this new report and the five vaccines with lower vaccination rates. This will definitely be a good-news/bad-news review.

CDC report on vaccination rates 2022-2024

In a report published on 26 March 2026 in the CDC’s MMWR Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report, Holly Hill, MD, PhD, CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and colleagues, used data from the National Immunization Survey-Child, which monitors coverage with recommended routine childhood vaccines.

The study examined vaccination rates by age two between children born in 2019-2020 and 2021-2022.

Here are the key results:

• Overall vaccine coverage by age 2 was similar between kids born in 2019-2020 and 2021-2022.
• Influenza vaccine — there was a decrease of 7.4 percentage points in coverage with two or more doses of the influenza vaccine between the two groups.
• Hepatitis B vaccine birth dose — vaccine coverage dropped 1.8 percentage points.
• Rotavirus vaccine — dropped 1.6 percentage points.
• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine — dropped 1.5 percentage points
• Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate (Hib) vaccine — dropped 1.0 percentage points.
• For children born in 2021-2022, vaccination rates were lower among those eligible for the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program compared with those who were not, and among Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino kids, versus white and Asian kids. Coverage was also lower among kids living in poverty and in more rural areas.
• Vaccination rates for kids born in 2021-2022 remained at or above 90% for three or more doses of the polio vaccine (92.1%), three or more doses of the hepatitis B vaccine (91.6%), one or more doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine (90.8%), and one or more doses of the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine (90%).

Summary

It’s important to note that this study reported national averages, so there may be distinct differences in vaccination rates by locality. For example, vaccine coverage for two or more doses of the influenza vaccine ranged from 25.2% in Mississippi to 78.3% in Massachusetts.

Moreover, this study only covered two-year-old children in 2024, so we will need data from 2025 (which may not be available until next year) to see if there will be any impact on vaccine coverage from the distinct anti-vaccine rhetoric from the Trump administration.

In summary, the good news is that vaccination rates for MMR, chickenpox, polio, and hepatitis B (except the birth dose) vaccines appear to be high enough to maintain herd immunity. Unfortunately, rates for other vaccines appear to be ticking down. Plus, we don’t know the impact of HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s war on vaccines.

I fear that when I write about the next CDC report on vaccine coverage, it’s not going to be good news. I wonder if RFK Jr and his MAHA sycophants will celebrate the drop in vaccine coverage.

Citations

• Hill HA, Yankey D, Elam-Evans LD, Mu Y, Chen M, Stokley S, Peacock G, Singleton JA. Vaccination Coverage by Age 24 Months Among Children Born in 2021 and 2022 – National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2022-2024. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2026 Mar 26;75(11):146-155. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7511a2. PMID: 41886308; PMCID: PMC13020856.

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