Teens need vaccines

Millions of American teenagers are under-vaccinated, according to the New York State Academy of Family Physicians.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in New York in 2016:

— Only 61 percent of adolescent girls and half of adolescent boys completed the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine series;

— Eighty-nine percent of adolescents received one dose of the vaccine to help protect against meningococcal disease caused by serogroups A, C, W and Y; however, this still leaves hundreds of thousands of New York’s teens under-vaccinated; and

— Only 53 percent of adolescents 13 through 17 years of age received the influenza vaccine during the 2015-16 flu season.

New York appears to be taking steps to address under-vaccination in the state: as of Sept. 1, 2016, children entering grades 7 or 8 must receive one dose of MenACWY; children entering grade 12 must receive another dose of MenACWY if they are due for it.

In Albany, on Saturday, Sept. 16, the New York State Academy of Family Physicians is hosting a panel presentation of physicians and public health experts who will discuss the potentially devastating impacts of under-vaccination.

 

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