National vaccination coverage among adolescents aged 13-17 years--United States, 2006.

Before 2005, vaccines were administered during adolescence to "catch up" children with vaccinations not received at a younger age, with the exception of the tetanus and diphtheria (Td) booster. However, since 2005, three new vaccines specifically for older children have been licensed and recommended in the United States: meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) for those aged 11-12 years and 15 years; tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine for those aged 11-12 years (or at ages 13-18 years if not received at ages 11-12 years); and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for girls aged 11-12 years (or at ages 13-18 years if not received at 11-12 years). Since 1996, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the American Medical Association (AMA), have recommended a health-care visit at ages 11-12 years for receipt of recommended vaccinations. In addition, a Healthy People 2010 objective (14-27) is to achieve > or =90% vaccination coverage among adolescents aged 13-15 years for certain vaccines. In 2006, for the first time, the National Immunization Survey (NIS) collected provider-reported vaccination information for adolescents aged 13-17 years (NIS-Teen). This report describes the results of that survey, which indicated that the Healthy People 2010 target has not been met for any of the vaccines analyzed. HPV vaccination coverage is not included in this report because NIS-Teen was conducted before HPV vaccination recommendations were published in March 2007. Routine health-care visits for adolescents should be encouraged, with emphasis on a visit at ages 11-12 years, and providers should continue to assess the need for vaccinations at every opportunity. NIS-Teen will be conducted annually to monitor coverage with recommended vaccines during ages 11-17 years and to identify groups with lower coverage.