VALDOSTA – Vaccinations keep preteens safe today so they can have a healthy tomorrow, according to health officials.

In an effort to protect every adult and child, Lowndes County Health Department joins the Georgia Department of Public Health in recognizing March 11-15 as Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week. 

The week serves as a reminder for parents to talk with their preteens and teens about getting immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases, according to health officials.

“Every parent wants to protect their child from danger, yet many times parents don’t see vaccination as a priority,” said Sheila Lovett, immunization program director for the Georgia Department of Public Health. “Vaccinating your child is the single best way to protect them from these preventable diseases, so we urge parents to make this a priority.”

Vaccines are the best defense against serious, preventable and sometimes deadly contagious diseases, health officials said. They help avoid expensive therapies and hospitalization needed to treat infectious diseases such as influenza and meningitis. 

Immunizations reduce absences from school and after-school activities and decrease the spread of illness at home, school and the community, they said.

“Vaccinations are especially important in school-age children since they come into contact with so many other people,” said Norma Jean Johnson, RN, Lowndes County nurse manager. “Vaccinations are given to protect everyone. These immunizations are the best hope we have for protecting everyone from the spread of dangerous and sometimes even deadly preventable diseases.”

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health Rule (511-2-2), all students born on or after Jan. 1, 2002, entering or transferring into seventh grade and any “new entrant” into eighth through 12th grades in Georgia need proof of an adolescent pertussis (whooping cough) booster vaccination (called “Tdap”) and an adolescent meningococcal vaccination (MenACWY). 

The law affects all public and private schools including, but not limited to, charter schools, community schools, juvenile court schools and other alternative school settings (excluding homeschool).

The Centers for Disease Control currently recommends the following vaccines for preteens and teens:

• Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Tdap)

• Influenza (flu)

• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

• Meningococcal Disease (MenACWY)

Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week is an opportunity to raise awareness through schools, health-care providers and the media regarding preteen immunizations, particularly Georgia’s pertussis and meningococcal requirements for incoming seventh-grade students.

Health officials urge parents to speak with a physician today to find out if a preteen is up-to-date.

More information is available online at https://dph.georgia.gov/immunization-section.