Parental Country of Birth and Childhood Vaccination Uptake in Washington State

Abstract

Background: Underimmunization of certain immigrant populations can place them at high risk of experiencing vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study between January 1, 2008, and May 1, 2013, among children included in the Washington State Immunization Information System. We assessed receipt of 1 or more doses of measles-containing, hepatitis A, pneumococcal, and diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-containing vaccines between 12 and 23 months of age. We compared children with 1 or more parents born in Somalia, Ukraine, Russia, Mexico, or India to children with 2 parents born in the United States. Poisson regression models with robust SEs were used to provide prevalence ratios adjusted for maternal education and number of prenatal visits.

Results: We identified 277 098 children, including 65 466 with foreign-born parents. Children of Somali-born parents were less likely to be immunized against measles than children of US-born parents (prevalence ratio: 0.82; 95% confidence interval: 0.80-0.84); this decrease became more pronounced over time (P < .01). No such disparity between these groups was observed with other vaccines. Compared with children of US-born parents, children of Ukrainian-born and Russian-born parents were less likely to be immunized, whereas children of Mexican-born and Indian-born parents were more likely to be immunized with any of the specified vaccines.

Conclusions: We found country-specific patterns of immunization that may reflect underlying cultural or other beliefs. Certain immigrant communities with higher rates of immunization refusal may be at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases and require new forms of public health outreach.

FIGURE 1

Receipt of measles-containing vaccines by parental country of birth and birth year.

FIGURE 2

Receipt of vaccines by children with 1 or more Somali-born parents by birth year.