Teen Immunization

Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) points to a growing problem: an estimated 35 million teens, in the United States alone, are missing one or more doses of childhood vaccines. This leaves these teens vulnerable to catching preventable infections as adults, when the diseases are often more serious and have greater complications.

Here are the vaccines most likely to be missing: one or more of the 2 doses of the MMR vaccine, the 3 doses of the Hepatitis B vaccine, the varicella vaccine, and/or the tetanus–diphtheria booster shot. All of these should have been received by age 12. Most teenagers are at increased risk because of missed doses.