Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) is reminding parents and caregivers about the importance of immunizations for their preteens and teenagers.
DHHS’s Public Health branch is joining agencies around California in promoting the annual Preteen Vaccine Week Feb. 27 through March 5.
This annual, weeklong campaign was designed to focus on the health of preteens by encouraging regular doctor visits and up-to-date vaccines.
Supervising Public Health Nurse Melinda McLarin said, “Vaccines are the safest and most effective way to protect your children from serious vaccine-preventable illness and diseases.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that 11 and 12-year-olds receive the following vaccines:
- COVID-19
- Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough)- All students entering 7th-grade need proof of a Tdap booster shot before starting school.
- HPV (human papillomavirus)- This is a three-dose series recommended for boys and girls.
- Meningococcal- Preteens need one shot now and a booster between ages 16 and 18.
- Varicella (Chickenpox)- Check with your health care provider to make sure both doses have been administered, it is common for children not to receive the second dose.
- Influenza (flu) vaccine is needed every year.
Vaccines are available from clinics and other health care providers. For more information about immunizations, contact your health care provider or the Public Health Clinic at 707-268-2108. The clinic is located at 529 I St. in Eureka.
For information about preteen immunizations, visit the CDC online at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/who/teens/index.html. For the full childhood vaccine schedule, visit https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/.
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