LI child immunization rate alarmingly low, data shows

Daily Point

As measles cases spread, Island is at 64% on seven-vaccine series, lagging state

The recent national focus on vaccines continues to intensify, spurred by the rising number of measles cases around the U.S. including two in New York City, growing awareness that children are undervaccinated against measles and other preventable illnesses, and continuing controversial comments on the topic by the nation’s top health care official.

Concerns about the number of places, including Long Island, where the measles vaccination rate has dropped below the herd immunity rate of 95%, led The Point to examine immunization rates for other childhood vaccinations. Unfortunately, the pattern is similar: On Long Island, rates for what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the combined 7-vaccine series remain alarmingly low among children between 24 and 35 months old. The percentage of those children who are fully vaccinated with what is referred to as the recommended 4:3:1:3:3:1:4 immunization series is at 64%, lower than New York State’s rate of 70.5%.

The 4:3:1:3:3:1:4 immunization series refers to:

• Four doses of DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough)
• Three doses of IPV (polio)
• One dose of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)
• Three doses of Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b bacteria)
• Three doses of HepB (hepatitis B)
• One dose of Varicella (chickenpox)
• Four doses of PCV (protects against pneumonia, meningitis, and blood infections).

An estimated 61.2% of 2-year-olds in Nassau County were fully vaccinated in 2023, according to the most recent records from the state Department of Health’s Prevention Agenda Tracking Dashboard. In Suffolk, that rate was at 66.5%. Among the state’s 62 counties, Nassau and Suffolk ranked alarmingly low, 51st and 44th, respectively. The health department categorizes Nassau’s rate as being of "high concern."

See how Nassau and Suffolk compare with other counties in the state.

The diseases targeted by those vaccines can cause serious health consequences especially for children under the age of 5 or those who are immunocompromised or unvaccinated. Many parents wait until their children are closer to school-enrolling age to fully meet immunization criteria required by schools, leaving these younger children vulnerable to avoidable diseases.

As measles continues to spread, especially in Texas and New Mexico, Department of Health and Human Services head Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alarmed pediatricians by saying that vaccinating children against the highly contagious disease is a "personal choice," in an op-ed on the Fox News website. RFK Jr. also cited the use of vitamins in curing patients from measles; some doctors use Vitamin A to reduce the severity of the illness.

The measles outbreak has led health experts to urge people to get the two recommended MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccination shots if they haven’t already. The first shot alone is 93% effective against the disease, while two shots together raises that effectiveness to 97%, according to the CDC.

Last week’s death from measles of an unvaccinated child in Texas was the first reported fatality from the recent outbreak. Currently, of the 164 cases of measles nationally, 34% are patients under the age of 5 and 48% are between 6 and 20.

The Point previously reported on low MMR vaccination rates by Long Island ZIP code, where neighborhoods like Glen Cove and Great Neck in Nassau and Sag Harbor in Suffolk stand out for abysmal vaccination rates among 2-year-olds. Data by ZIP code was not available for the combined 7-vaccine series.

— Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com

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