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Sanofi Pasteur Commends the CDC for Updates Made to the 2017 Children and Adolescent Immunization Schedule

Feb 9, 2017

Sanofi Pasteur commends the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for updates made to the 2017 Children and Adolescent Immunization Schedule, which now features a specific 16-year-old immunization platform visit.1 This modification to the schedule highlights the importance of healthcare providers scheduling their 16-year-old adolescent patients for necessary immunizations to help protect them against serious infectious diseases.

 

Far too many teens remain under-vaccinated against serious infectious diseases, despite CDC recommendations. According to data collected by the CDC in 2015, only 33% of eligible adolescents received the recommended second dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine to help protect against meningococcal meningitis, and only 63% of girls and 50% of boys received at least one dose of HPV vaccine. Drop off is even greater for the complete HPV series.2,3 Further, less than half of all teens received the flu vaccine during the 2015-2016 flu season.4

 

“Establishing a routine 16-year-old immunization platform visit will help improve these statistics and address under-vaccination,” said David P. Greenberg, MD, Associate Vice President and Regional Medical Head, North America, Sanofi Pasteur.

 

At Sanofi Pasteur, we envision a world where no one suffers or dies from a vaccine-preventable disease like meningococcal meningitis. This updated schedule is a major step forward for teen health and will help more teens get immunized against potentially devastating diseases. Please visit the CDC’s website for the 2017 Children and Adolescent Immunization Schedule.

 

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References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017). Recommended Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents Aged 18  Years or Younger, UNITED STATES, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/downloads/child/0-18yrs-combined-schedule-bw.pdf.
  2. United States Census Bureau. (2013). Age and Sex Composition in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/age/data/2012comp.html.
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). National, Regional, State, and Selected Local Area Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years — United States, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6533a4.htm?s_cid=mm6533a4_e.
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Flu Vaccination Coverage, United States, 2015-16 Influenza Season. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/coverage-1516estimates.htm##key-findings