The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency's Immunization Program conducts periodic Random Digit Dialing (RDD) telephone surveys. Interviewers make phone calls to randomly selected phone numbers to assess immunization coverage rates for San Diego County residents.

Surveys provide valuable data to determine what proportions of infants, children, adults and seniors living in San Diego County are fully immunized. The information collected helps us plan programs to do a better job of protecting all San Diegans from vaccine preventable diseases.

We measure our progress against the immunization component of the Healthy People objectives set by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The objectives are science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. It is important to note that these goals are reviewed regularly and changed to reflect the latest immunization recommendations.

Vaccine Coverage Statistics: A Work in Progress

At the time of the last local survey (2016-2017) we found that we had met the 2020 goal of 80% of San Diego preschool children getting the following vaccines: four doses of DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis), three doses of polio, one dose of MMR (mumps, measles, and rubella), three doses of hepatitis B, three doses of Hib (Haemophilus influenzae B), one dose of varicella (chickenpox) and 4 doses of pneumococcal pneumonia (PCV). The graph below shows the trend of immunization coverage nationally and in California as well as San Diego County from 2009-2017. (click on image below to enlarge)

As noted earlier, the Healthy People goals are adjusted as immunization recommendations change, based on the latest science available. The 2020 goal added 4 doses of the PCV vaccine to the coverage measurements. This vaccine, which protects against certain types of pneumococcal disease is recommended for children at 2, 4, 6, and 12-15 months of age.