October 17, 2011 Contact: Dana Mortensen, Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia, 267-426-6092 or firstname.lastname@example.org
This week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC) and the American Medical
Association released an updated information guide called
Vaccines and Teens for parents and physicians, detailing the
most current recommendations and information about critical
immunizations for older children. While vaccination rates are
improving among children ages 11-19, many adolescents and teens
are still not protected from diseases such as pertussis,
meningococcal meningitis, and human papillomavirus (HPV),
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC). “This age group is particularly susceptible to certain
infections for a variety of reasons,” explained Dr. Offit.
“Immunity provided by some of those early childhood vaccinations
is fading, and older children become susceptible again to d