Hepatitis B vaccination coverage among Asian and Pacific Islander children--United States, 1998

Asian and Pacific Islander (API) children in the United States have high rates of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (1-3). To prevent these infections, hepatitis B vaccination has been recommended for these children since the vaccine was first licensed by the Food and Drug Administration in 1981 (4). Recommendations have included universal hepatitis B vaccination of API infants beginning in 1990 and catch-up vaccination for API children aged <7 years (5). These recommendations were reinforced in 1991 when hepatitis B vaccination was recommended for all infants, particularly in populations such as API children with high rates of early childhood HBV infection (6). In 1995, vaccination was recommended for unvaccinated API children aged <11 years and catch-up vaccination for children aged 11-12 years who had not received hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) (7). Series completion among API children aged 19-35 months increased from 39% in 1994 to 88% in 1997 (8). However, among older API children, hepatitis B vaccination coverage was 10% in 1995 (7). In 1998, to examine trends in hepatitis B vaccination catch-up coverage among API children born before 1994, surveys were conducted in six U.S. cities. This report summarizes the results of the surveys, which indicate varying coverage among API children and suggest a need for continued focused vaccination programs for this population.