CDC Says Most U.S. Teens Get Vaccinated
- By BSTQ Staff
More U.S. teens are getting recommended vaccines against certain cancers, meningitis and infectious diseases, according to a survey of 20,000 teens ages 13 to 17 conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The survey found that 56 percent of teens had at least one dose of tetanusdiphtheria-acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap), an increase of 15 points since 2008. Fifty-four percent of teens got at least one dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine, up 12 points. And, 44 percent of girls had received at least one dose of human papilloma virus (HPV), an increase of seven percentage points. Only 27 percent of girls got all three doses of the HPV vaccine, up nine points from 2008.
“We can see that more parents of adolescents are electing to protect their children from serious diseases such as pertussis, meningitis and cervical cancer, but there is clear room for improvement in our system’s ability to reach this age group,” says the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat.