This August, Blue Hills is proud to promote National Immunization Awareness Month (or NIAM). This campaign was established to help promote the education and importance of vaccinations and to make sure all ages are up to date on their vaccinations. Each week of the month focuses on a different age group: school-age children, pregnant women, babies and young children, preteens and teens, and adults.
This week's main topic is about immunizations for preteens and teens. Keeping children up to date on vaccine's is one of the most important things a parent can do to ensure a healthy future for their kids.
Preteens and teens need four vaccines to protect against serious diseases:
Meningococcal conjugate vaccine to protect against meningitis and bloodstream infections (septicemia)
HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccine to protect against cancers caused by HPV
Tdap vaccine to protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough (pertussis)
A yearly flu vaccine to protect against seasonal flu
Quick Key Facts:
Vaccines are recommended throughout our lives to protect against serious diseases
Vaccines give you the power to protect your preteen or teen from several serious diseases
Vaccine-preventable diseases still exists and outbreaks do occur
Talk to your health care professional to make sure your children get the vaccinations they need when they need them
HPV vaccine is cancer prevention
Vaccines are the safest and most effective way to protect preteens and teens from several diseases
The CDC website is a great source for even more information. If you have any questions, your Blue Hill doctors are ready to help!
Sources:
https://www.nphic.org/niam
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/vaccine.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mening/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/dtap-tdap-td/hcp/recommendations.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/easy-to-read/preteen-teen.html