CDC: Most teen immunizations on the rise

(HealthDay)—Vaccination coverage in youths for tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) and meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) has been increasing since 2009, but there is still a ways to go before achieving the Healthy People 2020 targets for adolescents, according to a report published in the Aug. 30 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

C. Robinette Curtis, M.D., of the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed data from the National Immunization Survey-Teen to determine the degree to which youths 13 to 17 are receiving vaccinations recommended by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The findings varied substantially from state to state, but from 2011 to 2012, overall Tdap vaccination coverage of at least one dose increased to 84.6 percent; MenACWY vaccination coverage of at least one dose increased to 74 percent; and at least one dose of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination increased to 20.8 percent in males. HPV vaccination (at least one dose) in females held steady at 53.8 percent.

"Large and increasing coverage differences between Tdap and other vaccines recommended for adolescents show that many opportunities are being missed to vaccinate boys and girls, especially against HPV infection," the authors write.