Key points
- The NIS are a group of phone surveys used to monitor vaccination coverage among children, teens, and adults.
- Estimates of vaccination coverage are determined for child and teen vaccinations recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
- The NIS provides current, population-based, state and local area estimates of vaccination coverage using a standard survey methodology.
Overview
The NIS are a group of phone surveys used to monitor vaccination coverage among children 19–35 months and teens 13–17 years, flu vaccinations for children 6 months–17 years, and COVID-19 vaccination for children and teens in eligible age groups and for adults 18 years and older. The surveys are sponsored and conducted by the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and authorized by the Public Health Service Act [Sections 306].
The NIS provides current, population-based, state and local area estimates of vaccination coverage among children and teens using a standard survey methodology. The surveys collect data through telephone interviews with parents or guardians in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and some U.S. territories. Cell phone numbers are randomly selected and called to enroll one or more age-eligible child or teen from the household. The parents and guardians of eligible children are asked during the interview for the names of their children's vaccination providers and permission to contact them. With this permission, a questionnaire is mailed to each child's vaccination provider(s) to collect the information on the types of vaccinations, number of doses, dates of administration, and other administrative data about the health care facility, and children and teens are classified as being up to date based on the ACIP-recommended numbers of doses for each vaccine.
The NIS-Adult COVID Module (NIS-ACM) was added in April 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to assess COVID-19 vaccination coverage in adults 18 years and older.
Surveys conducted by NORC
The NIS are run by NORC at the University of Chicago (http://www.norc.org/) under the direction of CDC. If you have any questions about the NIS, please call NORC toll-free at 1-877-220-4805 and leave a detailed message.
If you prefer to use a TTY, please call the AT&T Relay Service toll-free at 1-800-855-2880 and request that NORC be called at 1-877-220-4805.
Current and past surveys
CDC is currently conducting four surveys to assess vaccination coverage in children, adolescents, and adults:
National Immunization Survey-Child (NIS-Child)
Purpose and scope
The NIS-Child was the first of the NIS, launched in 1994. The target population for the NIS-Child is children who are or will be 19-35 months within a few weeks of being selected to participate in the survey and living in the United States. Data are used to monitor vaccination coverage among 2-year-old children at the national, state, selected local levels, and some in U.S. territories.
The NIS-Child measures coverage of the following recommended vaccinations:
- Diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP/DT/DTP)
- Poliovirus vaccine (Polio)
- Measles or Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine (MMR)
- Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib)
- Hepatitis B vaccine (HepB)
- Varicella zoster (chickenpox) vaccine (VAR)
- Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)
- Rotavirus vaccine (ROT)
- Hepatitis A vaccine (HepA)
- Influenza vaccine (Flu)
NIS-Child collects data in two parts:
- A household telephone survey [92 pages]. This survey is answered by parents and guardians, includes questions about vaccinations for their children 19-35 months, and asks permission to contact vaccination providers (see Frequently Asked Questions about the Surveys for Participants).
- A mail survey of vaccination providers called the Immunization History Questionnaire [4 pages], (Spanish version [4 pages]). This survey is sent to doctors and other vaccination providers when a parent or guardian gives permission to collect data from vaccination providers. The Immunization History Questionnaire includes a reporting form for the types of vaccinations received, the number of doses, and the dates of administration. Questions are also asked about the practice, including the type of health care facility (see Frequently Asked Questions about the Surveys for Vaccination Providers).
For additional information on results from the NIS-Child, please visit ChildVaxView.
National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen)
Purpose and Scope
The NIS-Teen was launched in 2006. The target population for the NIS-Teen is adolescents 13–17 years living in the United States at the time of the interview. Data are used to monitor vaccination coverage among teens at the national, state, and selected local levels, and some in U.S. territories.
The NIS-Teen includes coverage of the following routine adolescent vaccines:
- Tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap)
- Meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY)
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- Influenza vaccine (Flu)
NIS-Teen collects information in two parts:
- A household telephone survey [94 pages]. This survey is answered by parents and guardians and includes questions about vaccinations for their teen 13–17 years and asks permission to contact vaccination providers (see Frequently Asked Questions about the Surveys for Participants).
- A mail survey of vaccination providers called the Immunization History Questionnaire [4 pages], (Spanish version [4 pages]). This survey is sent to doctors and other vaccination providers when a parent or guardian gives permission to collect data from vaccination providers. The Immunization History Questionnaire includes a reporting form for the types of vaccinations received, the number of doses, and their dates of administration. Questions are also asked about the practice, including the type of health care facility (see Frequently Asked Questions about the Surveys for Vaccination Providers).
For additional information on results from the NIS-Teen, please visit TeenVaxView.
National Immunization Survey-Child Influenza Module (NIS-CIM)
Purpose and scope
A short flu vaccination questionnaire, the National Immunization Survey-Child Influenza Module [37 pages] (NIS-CIM), is conducted from October through June each year for children 6–18 months and 3–12 years (who are not included in the NIS-Child or NIS-Teen). Parents and guardians are asked if their children had a flu vaccination and, if so, in which month and year. If the child received a vaccination, respondents are asked how many vaccine doses the child received and whether it was a flu shot or a flu nasal spray. Additional questions about flu vaccination are also asked.
National Immunization Survey-Flu (NIS-Flu)
The flu vaccination questions in the NIS-CIM are also included in the NIS and NIS-Teen. The NIS-Flu combines the flu vaccination responses collected from NIS-Child (children 19–35 months), NIS-Teen (adolescents 13–17 years), and NIS-CIM (children 6–18 months and 3–12 years). NIS-Flu data are used to assess annual flu vaccination coverage among children 6 months–17 years at the national level, state level, and selected local levels, and some in U.S. territories. These NIS-Flu estimates are based on the parent or guardian-reported data.
For additional information and seasonal flu estimates, please visit FluVaxView.
National Immunization Survey-Adult COVID Module (NIS-ACM)
Purpose and scope
The National Immunization Survey-Adult COVID Module [28 pages] (NIS-ACM), is conducted among adults 18 years and older. The survey is used to monitor COVID-19 vaccination uptake and confidence in vaccination among adults.
For additional information on results about COVID vaccination, please visit COVIDVaxView.
Previous survey
National Immunization Survey-Child COVID Module (NIS-CCM)
Purpose and scope
The National Immunization Survey-Child COVID Module [35 pages] (NIS-CCM) was added in July 2021 and was answered by parents and guardians to assess COVID-19 vaccination coverage among children and teens in eligible age groups. Data collection for the NIS-CCM was discontinued on December 31, 2023. Selected questions about COVID vaccination and intent were added to the NIS-CIM, beginning January 2, 2024.
For additional information on results about COVID vaccination, please visit COVIDVaxView.