Arizona Partnership for Immunization – Parent Page for Teens

Protect Me With 3 – Parent Page

Protect your kids’ healthy future with vaccines:
As children get older, the protection provided by earlier vaccinations can wear off. Therefore, they will need some booster shots to stay protected.

During these years, the vaccines they will need include: 1 booster of tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap), 2 meningococcal shots and 3 human papillomavirus (HPV) shots.While some of these vaccines may not be required, they are still of great benefit to your teen’s health. This is also a good time to see if they need to catch up on any other vaccines like varicella, hepatitis A or others. You can ask the doctor if any additional vaccines are needed.

To prepare yourself:

Always bring your teen’s immunization record to each visit
Ask the Doctor to make sure your teen is up to date on all vaccines
Ask questions about the vaccines that are required as well as others that may not be required but are recommended.

To prepare your teen:

Be honest with your teen, explaining why he/she needs the shot(s) and how the vaccines keep him/her healthy.
Encourage your teen to relax and suggest that it may be better to look away while the shots are given.
Engage your teen in conversation while he/she receives the shot(s).

Below is a list of vaccines that your teen should have received or will be receiving in the teen years. Talk to the doctor to see if your teen is on track.