"This is a new year's gift to our nation's young children and their parents, from the private medical community and government working together," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala.

For years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices provided one childhood immunization schedule used in public health clinics while the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended a slightly different schedule. But they have now unified their schedules, according to a report in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Jan. 6, 1995, issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Although the nation's immunization coverage levels of infants and toddlers is at an all-time high, up to two million children still have not received one or more recommended doses of vaccine, according to Secretary Shalala.

"By the year 1996, we're determined to immunize at least 90 percent of all preschool-aged children with the most important vaccines. And, by the year 2000, we want to ring in the turn of the century with at least 90 percent of our children receiving all of their vaccines. The uniform schedule will help health care professionals deliver this message to parents," Shalala said.

As part of the Clinton administration's Childhood Immunization Initiative, the CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association, state immunization programs and other organizations met in December 1993 to begin unifying the two schedules.

"This change provides a uniform childhood immunization schedule to support greater collaboration between the private and public medical communities to increase childhood immunizations in the United States," said CDC Director David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. "We have historic partnerships among governments, community organizations, and the private medical community to reduce immunization barriers and protect our children."

During the last six years, the number of vaccine doses recommended for children has increased from nine to 15 with the introduction of new vaccines and the recommendation of additional doses of some vaccines to better protect children from disease. Differences resolved in the unified schedule include the timing of the third dose of oral polio vaccine, the fourth dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, the second dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, and the schedule for infant hepatitis B vaccination.

Today, immunizations can protect children from nine diseases; however, often parents are not aware that 11-15 doses of their child's vaccinations should be delivered before age two.