Stowsentry.com - Health agencies highlight need for teen vaccinations

by Tess Wolfe

Reporter

A variety of vaccines made available in recent years can be of particular benefit to teenagers, say local and state health officials. Five regional private and government organizations are seeking to raise awareness of those benefits by naming June "Teen Immunization Month."

In a letter to parents of teenage students, the Summit County Health District, the Akron Health Department, Barberton Health Department, Akron Children's Hospital and The Immunization Coalition of Summit County stated "immunization rates for teens in the U.S. are far below national goals."

Particularly, immunizations can protect teenagers from: hepatitis B; meningitis; chicken pox; whooping cough, also known as pertussis; and human papillomavirus, the leading cause of cervical cancer in women.

Nationwide, the medical community has increased its attention to ensuring teens are up to date in receiving vaccinations, said Ame Bashforth, head of the immunization program for the Ohio Department of Health.

"Just in the past few years, newer vaccines have come out," she said. "The other factor is that teens don't tend to participate in 'well teen' programs. Raising awareness when new vaccines are introduced requires some catch-up efforts for those who are older [teens], who may need to go back to receive the new vaccines that may be being administered to younger people."

Shawna Anderson, nursing supervisor for the Akron Health Department, said some of the newer vaccines include: the MCV4, which protects against meningitis; the HPV, for female patients only, which can protect them from the HPV virus; and the Tdap, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

"As new vaccines develop, they benefit different age groups," she said. "These particularly benefit teens."

Traci Barnett, nursing supervisor for the Summit County Health District, said new medical guidelines are "really targeting adolescents."

"We have a tendency to immunize children when they're very young," said Barnett. "We wanted to make sure parents know what immunizations their teens should have."

She described the transmission of the hepatitis B virus, which is blood-bourne.

"When people are in close contact, as when they are in school, these are the things that they're at risk for. Pertussis is really prevalent in teens and adults. It's frustrating [to be coughing], and sometimes it can get worse."

Barnett said the Summit County Health District highly recommends that teenagers receive a Tdap immunization, which now vaccinates against pertussis.

She said that without vaccination against diseases such as chicken pox, which creates higher health risks as individuals grow older, "We're always one step away from an outbreak if we don't keep up on our vaccinations."

For more information, call the Summit County Health District, 1100 Graham Road Circle in Stow, at 330-5713 or go to www.cdc.gov/vaccines.

E-mail: twolfe@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3916