, reported Samantha K. Kurosky of RTI Health Solutions, Research Triangle Park, N.C., and her colleagues.
Data from the 2012 National Immunization Survey was used to assess vaccination completion and compliance in 11,561 children age 24-35 months. Most children had providers who were in private practice (58%); about half of the children were enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Completion of the full 4:3:1:3:3:1:4 vaccine series (4 DTaP, 3 inactivated polio vaccine [IPV], 1 MMR, 3 or 4 Haemophilus influenzae type b [Hib], 3 hepatitis B, 1 varicella, and 4 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine) was better among those who received combination vaccines, at 69%, compared with children who received single-antigen vaccine only (50%).
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Children receiving combination vaccines also had a significantly higher compliance rate for the 4:3:1:3:3:1:4 series, at 24%, compared with those receiving single-antigen vaccines only, at 13% (P less than .001). Of children who received at least one vaccine by 24 months, 86% received at least one combo vaccine.
Children getting at least one combo vaccine were 2.2 times more likely to get all vaccines on time, and 2.4 times more likely to spend less time undervaccinated (less than 7 months), compared with those receiving single-antigen vaccines only, Ms. Kurosky and her associates said.
Previous studies have found that parents who refuse or intentionally delay vaccines often have higher income and are married mothers with college educations. In this study, parents with these demographics tended to have children who received single-antigen–only vaccines – that is, children who were less likely to complete a full vaccine series or have a high compliance rate, they said.
GlaxoSmithKline funded the research.
Read more at Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (2017 Sep 7. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2017.1362515).