CDC Launches Pre-Teen Vaccine Campaign

CDC Launches Pre-Teen Vaccine Campaign: The CDC′s Pre-teen Vaccine Campaign is designed to inform parents, caregivers, family physicians and pediatricians about CDC′s new vaccination recommendations for 11- and 12-year-olds. The three pre-teen vaccines include MCV4, which protects against meningitis and its complications; Tdap, which is a booster against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis or "whooping cough," and for girls, the HPV vaccine, which protects against the types of HPV that most commonly cause cervical cancer.

Research shows that pre-teens generally do not get preventive healthcare, visiting the doctor only when they are sick. One goal of this campaign is to encourage parents to take their pre-teens in for the recommended 11 or 12 year old check-up, which is endorsed by the American Academy for Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), in addition to CDC.

The campaign also seeks to provide caregivers and their health care providers with the latest information about pre-teen vaccines and the pre-teen check-up in the form of fact sheets and posters. It also includes outreach to mainstream and ethnic media, as well as the creation of partnerships with national and state organizations who reach parents and healthcare providers.

The campaign’s August 1st launch coincided with National Immunization Awareness Month in August, and included media events in New York City and Los Angeles. From August 1st though 3rd, Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) participated in media roundtables and desk side briefings about pre-teen immunization and the pre-teen medical check-up. Joining Dr. Schuchat in New York City was AAP’s President-Elect, Dr. Renee Jenkins. In Los Angeles, Dr. Schuchat was joined by Dr. Charles Wibbelsman, from AAP’s Committee on Adolescence. Together, they met or spoke with more than 40 members of the mainstream media including reporters from Family Circle Magazine, Parenting Magazine, CNN radio and Reuters. More than 20 reporters from the country's largest ethnic media outlets attended the minority media roundtables, providing coverage in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, and in the African American, Middle Eastern and Caribbean communities. Also, Dr. Schuchat and Ms. Ana Rivera, from CDC's Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, were interviewed by more than 30 Spanish and English radio stations around the country.

The campaign’s Web site, www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/preteens-adol/07gallery/default.htm, provides easy-to-understand, downloadable educational materials in English and Spanish for parents and healthcare providers about the vaccines and the diseases they prevent.