Back to School Preparation Includes Vaccinations

Submitted by Darlynn Williams, Public Health Nurse

Most parents are diligent about having their babies vaccinated against serious diseases like polio, tetanus, and whooping cough. Unfortunately some parents don’t realize that adolescents also need vaccinations to keep them healthy throughout high school and college and to give them a healthy foundation for adulthood.

Several vaccines critical to adolescent health and wellness are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health organizations. These vaccines also protect them from serious and potentially deadly diseases. Ideally, adolescents should have a routine visit with their healthcare provider at age 11-12 years that includes all recommended vaccines.

“Vaccination is very effective and safe,” says Jaci Phillips, FNP. “There is no reason to leave your child at risk when vaccines are available to protect them.”

One vaccine recommended for all adolescents protects them against meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection that causes meningitis and blood infection (sepsis). The vaccine protects against four specific types of disease, caused by serogroups A, C, W, and Y. Another vaccine that may be important for your child protects against meningococcal serogroup B. Adolescents are at increased risk of getting meningococcal disease, which kills one in 10 who get it and leaves up to two in 10 with serious and permanent complications, including brain damage, kidney damage, hearing loss, and amputations.

All adolescents should get a Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough). The vaccine is not only valuable for protecting teens, but it also helps reduce pertussis infections which can be passed on to infants who are much more likely to die from it.

CDC also recommends an annual influenza vaccine for everyone age six months and older. Influenza and its complications are responsible for 3,000-49,000 US deaths each year, depending on the severity of the circulating viruses.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects against a cancer-causing virus. HPV vaccination now can help protect your child from many types of cancers. The vaccine is given as a two-dose series over a six-month period and is important for both females and males. Teens or young adults who have not gotten any or all of the recommended doses should ask about vaccination.

Adolescents who were not immunized or were under-immunized as infants and toddlers, also need to receive “catch-up” vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella, and varicella (chickenpox). Vaccines against pneumococcal disease are also recommended for certain high-risk adolescents.

Parents of adolescents are urged to contact Powder River Public Health at 436-2297 for more information or to schedule a vaccination appointment.