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States where vaccines are required for students to attend middle school have significantly higher rates of teens who are up-to-date with their vaccinations, a new report says.
The findings show that in the states where middle schools required tetanus and diphtheria vaccinations, 80 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 were up-to-date with these vaccines, where as in states where middle schools did not require these vaccines, 70 percent of teens were up-to-date.
" Adolescent vaccination coverage levels are increasing but remain low," the researchers wrote in their article, published today (May 7) in the journal Pediatrics.
Most school vaccination requirements are aimed at children entering kindergarten, but many states have also implemented requirements targeting children entering middle school, the report said.
In the study, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed school entry requirements for the 2008-2009 school year, and compared them with teen vaccination rates for three vaccines: tetanus/diphtheria-containing (Td) or tetanus/diphtheria/acelullar pertussis (TdaP), meningococcal conjugate (which protects against some types of bacterial meningitis), and human papillomavirus (HPV).
They found that 32 states required either Td or TdaP for middle schoolers, three states required the meningitis vaccine and 10 required that information about the disease and vaccine be disseminated to parents. Additionally, one state required the HPV vaccine for teen girls, and five required education of parents about HPV.
[ Should the HPV Vaccine Be Mandatory? Experts Weigh In ]
Vaccination requirements were also linked with significantly higher coverage for meningitis vaccine — 71 percent of teens were vaccinated in states where middle schools required the vaccine, compared with 53 percent vaccinated in states where middle schools didn't require the vaccine.
The researchers found that states requiring education about vaccines did not have vaccination rates than states without such requirements.
"Education-only requirements appear not to have an impact at this time," the researchers said.
Since the 2008–2009 school year, 21 states have enacted new or updated vaccination requirements for TdaP vaccines, six have issued new requirements for meningitis vaccine and one enacted a requirement for the HPV vaccine.
Vaccination requirements may not be feasible for every vaccine, or in every location, the researchers said. Factors that should be considered include whether states have infrastructure for buying and storing vaccines, consistency with existing school entry requirements, and adequate political and public support.
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I might support some vaccinations, but I DO NOT SUPPORT banning children from school until they get the HPV vaccination. There is too little known about it right now, and the way it has been pushed...
I am 21, and I have not gotten the vaccination, nor do I intend to. At this point in my life, there is absolutely no reason to, as I am not sexually active, have never been sexually active, and will not be until I am married, if I ever chose to be married.
Given how it only protects partially, for a few strains, it provides a very false sense of security. It would be much better to actually teach about the risks of the disease, including showing some pictures of the warts or cervical cancer and encourage 1) Abstinence (which has benefits far from just avoiding an STI) and 2) Always using condoms should you chose to participate in sexual activity.
All vaccinations carry a huge risk- side effects. School shouldn't be able to force parents to take that risk.
Especially the HPV vaccination. Parents need to fight this.
As a parent who lost a son to bacterial meningitis, and as President of the National Meningitis Association, I support all states requiring that teens receive the vaccines recommended by the CDC -- the meningitis vaccine, the pertussis booster, the HPV vaccine, which prevents cancer, and a yearly flu vaccine. Once you've lost your child, there is no second chance. Visit www.preteenvaccines.org for more information.
Have you ever thought about the parents who lost a child due to side effects of vaccinations? Or those whose child was damaged by vaccinations? It is not a one size fits all, and answer me this...why is it as the United States requires more and more vaccinations for our children the death rate continues to climb? We have more kids with diagnosed diseases, allergies, etc. I agree once you lost your child due to side effects of vaccinations there is no second chance! One more thing, if vaccinations are so utterly safe why are the makers of vaccinations protected from liability....if they are so SAFE then they should take responsibility and stand behind their products. WHY DOES the government protect them from litigation? Other countries do not, so why ours?
The website is a vaccine manufacturer's website.
Your website says this:
I think it may be an astroturf organization. It's a common pharmaceutical tactic.
Their is not scientific evidence that the HPV vaccine prevents cancer. They hope it will prevent cancer. It will take at least 20 years to gather data and then decide. And HPV has nothing to do with meningitis. Each vaccine needs to be looked at individually. I don't know what spurred you from meningitis to HPV.
I'm sorry you lost a son to a very rare bacterial death but I do not believe mass vaccination strategy is the answer.
If you're living with hpv or other STDs, please join me at STDmingles,com, exclusively for those with STDs. It would be great to meet people going through the same thing.