There was a good article in Parade Magazine regarding immunizations for children. The article warned that children between the teen and “tween” years tend to fall off the radar of the health care system since they usually only visit a doctor when they are sick. Plus with so many people losing their health insurance these days kids are even less likely to see their family doctor.

According to the Center for Disease Control the shots adolescents are most likely to miss out on are:

Tdap – for tetanus and diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough) – Recommended for 11 and 12 year olds

MCV4 – the meningitis vaccine – Recommended for 11 and 12 year olds

HPV - to prevent cervical cancer

Even if your teenager received all recommended vaccinations as a child, those shots may not be enough to keep them healthy. Some children need to have “catch-up” vaccines they may not have had as kids. Among these are Varicella (chicken pox), Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, and MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)

Certain high-risk groups, such as children with diabetes or asthma, may also need a pneumonia vaccine. The CDC recommends that all kids from ages 6 months to 19 years receive an annual flu vaccine.

Doctors recommend checking your child’s immunization record against the CDC list. Go to cdc.gov to find their list of recommended vaccines.

If you are currently without health insurance and feel you can not afford these vaccines check out your local county (government) health center. They give immunizations on a income based fee. When our health insurance was not good or non existent, I went to the county clinic and had my children immunized for only a few dollars per shot.

For information on vaccines for women see our postVaccine for Women Only – Gardasil Vaccine

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