Why teens may be behind on vaccinations

A new survey finds even though vaccines for certain teenage illnesses are available and are found to be safe, many parents aren’t having their teens inoculated. The question is why? Researchers looked at parent questionnaires collected through a national survey called “Reasons for Not Vaccinating Adolescents: National Survey of Teens, 2008-2010.” Investigators wanted to better understand why moms and dads aren’t taking their older children in for recommended inoculations. “These vaccines are safe and effective and people should really have their teens get them,” says Dr. Paul Darden, lead author of the study and professor of pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. “Parents say pediatricians are telling them about the vaccines, yet they just don’t seem to understand why they are necessary or are skeptical about their safety.” When parents of teens were asked why their children didn’t receive certain forms of the tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) and meningitis vaccine, some...