HONOLULU – Hawai'i's infant immunization rates have improved to third in the nation, thanks to the efforts of healthcare providers and parents and guardians statewide, state Depart of Health officials said.

Approximately 88 percent of Hawai'i's children ages 19-35 months are up-to-date on their immunizations according to the 2007 National Immunization Survey. This is an increase of approximately 9 percent over the previous year, according to a Department of Health news release.

In addition, Hawai'i has exceeded the Healthy People 2010 objective to achieve vaccination coverage levels above 90 percent for the recommended doses of the following vaccine types: diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hepatitis B, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), polio, and varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, the news release said.

"Immunizations are our children's best defense against diseases like pertussis and measles," said Director of Health Chiyome Fukino, M.D. "It is important to continue these efforts to reach keiki who remain unprotected against vaccine-preventable diseases."

Free or low-cost vaccines are available for eligible children throughout the State. For more information about immunizations, parents are encouraged to talk to their child's healthcare provider, visit www.vaxhawaii.com <http://www.vaxhawaii.com/> , or call 586-8332. Calls from the neighbor islands are toll-free at 1-800-933-4832.

The National Immunization Survey (NIS) is sponsored by the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) and conducted jointly by NCIRD and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The NIS is a telephone survey followed by a mailed survey to children's immunization providers.