Between busy after school activities, projects and homework, Cobb & Douglas Public Health (CDPH) wants parents to be sure to make a date to vaccinate their preteens against the most common diseases that can slow them down.

Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week is March 13 – 19, 2016 and was established by the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) to help remind parents to talk with their preteens and teens about getting immunized against several vaccine-preventable diseases because a shot only lasts a second; a disease lasts much longer.

According to the Georgia  Department of Public Health Rule (511-2-2), all students born on or after January 1, 2002, entering or transferring into seventh grade and any “new entrant” into eighth -12th grades in Georgia need proof of an adolescent pertussis (whooping cough) booster vaccination (called “Tdap”) AND an adolescent meningococcal vaccination (MenACWY). This law affects all public and private schools including, but not limited to charter schools, community schools, juvenile court schools and other alternative school settings (excluding homeschool).

“Vaccines are the best defense we have against serious, preventable and sometimes deadly contagious diseases. Immunizations also reduce absences both at school and after school activities and decrease the spread of illness at home, school and the community. Additionally, vaccines help families avoid expensive therapies and hospitalization needed to treat infectious diseases like influenza and meningitis,” said Priti Kohle, District Immunization Director of Cobb & Douglas Public Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends the following vaccines for preteens and teens:

  • Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Tdap)
  • Influenza (flu)
  • Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – three doses
  • Meningococcal Disease (MenACWY)

Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week is an opportunity to raise awareness through schools, health care providers and the media regarding preteen immunizations, particularly Georgia’s pertussis and meningococcal requirements for incoming seventh-grade students. Speak with your physician today to find out if your preteen is up-to-date and if not, make a date to vaccinate.

For more information, visit http://dph.georgia.gov/immunization-section. To make an appointment for your child’s immunizations, please call 770-514-2300 or visit cobbanddouglaspublichealth.org.