Published: March 3, 2020
To help protect adolescents against dangerous diseases, Western Health Advantage (WHA) is joining with the California Department of Public Health in recognizing March 1-7, 2020 as Preteen Vaccine Week.
Vaccination is one of the best ways parents can protect infants, children, and teens from 16 potentially harmful diseases. Vaccine-preventable diseases can be very serious, may require hospitalization, or even be deadly – especially in infants and young children.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), immunizations have had an enormous impact on improving the health of children in the United States. Most parents today have never seen first-hand the devastating consequences that vaccine-preventable diseases have on a child, a family, or community. While these diseases are not common in the U.S., they persist around the world. It is important that Californians continue to protect their children with vaccines because outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like pertussis, mumps, and measles can and do occur in the United States.
If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to ask your doctor about the three vaccines recommended for your child at their preteen visit, plus a flu shot every year.
Preteens need vaccines against whooping cough (Tdap), meningitis (MenACWY), and HPV when they are 11-12 years old. Incoming 7th graders must also provide proof of having received the whooping cough shot before starting school. A booster dose of MenACWY is recommended when teens are 16 years old. In addition, flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months or older – not just preteens and teens.
For more information about recommended schedules for immunizations, visit mywha.org/teenIZ.
For more information about adolescent health, visit this resource from WHA.