Vaccination coverage among adolescents 1 year before the institution of a seventh grade school entry vaccination requirement–San Diego, California, 1998

In 1996, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association of Family Physicians, and the American Medical Association recommended routine health-care visits for children aged 11-12 years, emphasizing vaccination with hepatitis B vaccine; measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR); tetanus and diphtheria toxoids (Td); and varicella vaccine. Because no national data exist regarding vaccination coverage among adolescents, the impact of these recommendations is unknown. In October 1997, California enacted Assembly Bill 381 (AB381) that requires students entering the seventh grade on or after July 1, 1999, to have received three doses of hepatitis B vaccine and two doses of MMR. To assist in planning and implementing AB381, the San Diego County Health Department expanded its 1998 infant and adult vaccination survey to include fifth and sixth graders. This report summarizes the findings from that survey, which indicate that most fifth and sixth graders lacked required and recommended vaccinations.