Young children must receive a host of vaccines before starting school. However, the CDC says kids 11 years and older often don't get the boosters and shots they need to stay up-to-date with their vaccine schedule.
There are several factors contributing to tweens and teens missing vaccines, CDC's Dr. Melinda Wharton, deputy director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told CBS News. Kids older than 11 go to the doctor much less than those under the age of 10, for instance, and not all schools require older students to be vaccinated. That said, the teenage years do offer an opportunity for kids to catch up on new vaccine recommendations that might have been issued after they started their schooling.
Current adolescent vaccine recommendations include the tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough vaccine for children between ages 11 and 12, a meningococcal conjugate vaccine by the age of 12 (with a booster at 16), and the HPV vaccine for girls by the age of 12. A chickenpox booster may also be necessary.
- read the CBS News article