National immunization rate for children reaches 96% at age 1

Korea's national immunization program for children has been confirmed to be on track.

Last year, the national immunization rate for children remained high at 96.4 percent for one-year-olds, 92.9 percent for two-year-olds, 89.2 percent for three-year-olds, and 89.8 percent for six-year-olds, higher than that of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) confirmed this in its 2023 National Childhood Immunization Rate Report. It has compiled the National Immunization Status of Children data since 2011 to determine the annual immunization rates for key age groups (one-, three-, and six years old) for national immunizations.

According to statistics, in 2023, the age-specific immunization coverage rates were 96.4 percent for one-year-olds, 92.9 percent for two-year-olds, 89.2 percent for three-year-olds, and 89.8 percent for six-year-olds. Compared to 2022, these rates were similar for ages one to three and increased by 1.2 percentage points for age six.

For six-year-olds in particular, this is the highest rate since 2018 when the agency began to compile related data, and is up 6.3 percentage points from 83.5 percent in 2020.

A comparison of Korea's immunization rates with those of Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. showed that this country's immunization rates were higher than those of other major countries in all six major vaccines.

“Thanks to parents and children who actively participated in the national immunization program, Korea achieved a high immunization rate in 2023, and immunity against major vaccine diseases is well established in children,” KDCA Commissioner Jee Young-mee said. “We ask parents to complete vaccinations according to the standard immunization schedule to protect their children from infectious diseases.”