Study Shows Lower Vaccination Rates for Military Kids

Dependent children of service members are less likely to be vaccinated than the general population. A team of medical researchers at the University of California – San Diego came to that conclusion after conducting a study comparing military children with insured and uninsured civilian counterparts. The researchers determined that 28 percent of military dependent children ages 19 to 35 months were not up to date on their vaccinations. “Compared with all other U.S. children, military dependent children were more likely to be incompletely vaccinated,” the researchers said, in an article published in Pediatrics magazine. The team cited high mobility and the overall lack of a military-wide childhood immunization registry as likely culprits.