Health Officials Recommend Pre-Teen Vaccinations

San Andreas, CA — Health officials remind parents that many vaccinations that children receive entering kindergarten will wear off by the time they become a teenager.

To increase awareness of this concern, the Calaveras County Public Health Department will observe National Pre-Teen Vaccine Week from January 18-24.

County Health Officer Dr. Dean Kelaita says vaccines that tend to wear off include bacterial meningitis, whooping cough and chicken pox.

“It is important that 11 and 12 year olds get immunized,” insists Kelaita. “Immunity developed from childhood vaccines lessens over time, exposing a child to serious diseases that can easily spread, leading to missed school or worse.”

Periodic outbreaks of chicken pox and whooping cough have occurred in Calaveras County between 2005-08, and most were identified from illness in teens that had previously been vaccinated.

Written by BJ Hansen