Back to School Means Back to Vaccines for Some Preteens and Teens - and For Some Adults, Too

RED BANK, N.J. and WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., Aug. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Many parents had their children vaccinated when they were younger, but some vaccines are also recommended for older children. Beyond focusing on school supplies, extracurricular activities, and fall schedules, the back-to-school time is a good opportunity for parents to talk with their health care professional about vaccines that may be recommended for their preteen or teen.

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Preteens and teens tend to have fewer regular visits with their health care professional as they get older, and visits are often for sports physicals or checkups. However, these types of visits can be used as an opportunity to ask about vaccines for your preteen or teen.

"As a practicing nurse and a mom, I know that parents have many items to prioritize as the school year approaches, with purchasing school supplies, coordinating extracurricular activities and organizing fall schedules," said Beth Battaglino, RN, president and CEO of HealthyWomen.org. "However, when talking with their child's health care professional during the back-to-school timeframe, I urge all parents to learn more about vaccines recommended for their preteen and teen."

Vaccines are recommended not only for children, preteen and teen boys and girls, but for people across a lifetime, and they help people of all ages maintain health and wellness. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccines to help prevent more than 15 diseases, and has vaccination schedules for children and adults. Some vaccines may require more than one dose.

To learn more about vaccines recommended for preteens and teens and people of all ages, parents should talk to their health care professional. For more information, visit sponsor.WebMD.com/VACCINES. The website provides information developed by Merck on WebMD about the history of vaccines and how they are developed, approved, and manufactured. It also offers a resource that can be used when talking to a health care professional about vaccination.

About HealthyWomen

HealthyWomen (HW) is the nation's leading nonprofit health information source for women. For nearly 25 years, women have been coming to HW for answers to their most pressing and personal health care questions. HW provides award-winning health information through a wide array of online content and print publications that are original, objective and reviewed and approved by medical experts. Its HON-certified website, www.HealthyWomen.org^®, has been recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the "Top 100 Websites for Women" for the third year in a row and was named the top women's health website by Dr. Mehmet Oz in O, The Oprah Magazine. To learn more, visit www.HealthyWomen.org.

About Merck

Today's Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and consumer care and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

SOURCE Merck

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