Atlanta ? For the first time in at least a decade, the vaccination rate for black children in the United States has caught up to that of youngsters in other racial groups, the government reported Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a survey found no statistically significant difference in 2005 among blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics in vaccination rates for children ages 19 months to 35 months.

In each racial group, about 76 percent to 79 percent of children received the entire recommended series of shots.

Blacks have lagged whites by as many as 10 percentage points in the past decade.

New public health efforts were started to close the gap, including the government’s Vaccines for Children program in 1994, which pays for immunizations for the poor.