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As children grow into adolescents, many parents don't think much about having
them vaccinated. After all, the bulk of physicians recommend
immunizations during infancy and early childhood; once adolescence
hits, vaccination rates typically taper off, leaving a large number
of older children and teens vulnerable to vaccine-preventable
diseases.
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Vaccines for adolescents
may include: |
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addresses
N. meningitidis serogroups A, C, Y and W-135,
which account for nearly 80 percent of adolescent cases of
meningococcal meningitis.
This vaccine has several
advantages over previous versions of the meningococcal vaccine
including longer term immunity, booster responses, herd immunity and
elimination of the carrier state. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) currently recommends
immunizing all 11 to 18 year olds, entering college freshmen planning to live
in dormitories and specific groups at increased risk of acquiring
disease. The MCV4, unlike the earlier polysaccharide version of the vaccine,
requires an intramuscular injection.
Learn more about the
meningococcal vaccine.
is approved by the United States Federal Drug Administration (FDA)
for one-time use pending further study. In 2004, some 38 percent of pertussis
(whooping cough)
cases were diagnosed in people 10 to 19
years old. This most likely is due to waning immunity that occurs
five to eight years after childhood immunization and also after
natural infection. Experts estimate
there are some 1 million cases of pertussis each year in the United
States. Not only does this disease pose a threat to the health of
adolescents and older adults, but it also puts the lives of
partially immunized or unimmunized infants at risk.
The CDC has recommended that adolescents 11 to 12 years old
routinely receive the tetanus/diphtheria/acellular pertussis vaccine
(Tdap). Further, adolescents who have not previously
had the vaccine are encouraged to receive it. A five-year
interval between other diphtheria and tetanus containing products
and Tdap is encouraged. Learn
more about the Tdap vaccine.
which helps prevent cervical cancer, is the second vaccine
(hepatitis B vaccine was the first) developed that prevents cancer. HPV is a virus that can affect the
genital area of the body. “Low-risk” types primarily
produce genital warts (types 6 and 11 account for approximately 90
percent of genital warts), and “high-risk” oncogenic types can
cause cervical, vulvar, vaginal, anal and penile cancer. Types 16
and 18 account for approximately 70 percent of all cervical cancer
cases.
The vaccine is preventive and not therapeutic, thus it is most
effective when administered before potential exposure to HPV
via sexual contact. However, the vaccine is also recommended for females
who have had sexual contact, have had positive PAP tests or who have
evidence of prior HPV infection. The vaccine addresses four types of
HPV, and it is unlikely that such women have been infected with all
four types; therefore, they could potentially benefit from being
vaccinated. The HPV vaccine has recently been recommended by the
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for routine use among
adolescent females age 11 to 12 years of age (with administration at
9 to 10 years of age if preferred) and for those age 13 to 26 years
who have not previously received vaccination. FDA approval for the
product is for females age 9-26 years only. Research regarding
efficacy among males is ongoing. Learn
more about the HPV vaccine
is recommended for several populations.
At the end of June 2006, a second dose of varicella was recommended
for all children, adolescents and young adults who have previously
received only one dose and have no evidence of having had the
disease. A second dose will decrease the risk of break-through
disease and associated school absence, missed work and potential
medical complications associated with the chickenpox.
The MMRV vaccine (combination of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella)
is not licensed for use in those 13 years of age or older, so if
both MMR and varicella are required above the age of 13 years,
separate vaccines (given on the same day at different anatomic
sites) are recommended. Learn more
about the varicella vaccine.
Additional vaccines are recommended for special populations of
adolescents requiring hepatitis A,
pneumococcal and/or
influenza
vaccines, and for adolescents requiring “catch-up” with
inactivated polio,
hepatitis B or
measles/mumps/rubella vaccines.
 
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