(KMOX) — Should adolescents be required to make a special immunization visit to their doctor at age 16?
Some doctors' groups are recommending just that.
The visit would allow pediatricians and parents to sit down and review the vaccine schedule and find out if there are any holes in it — like getting that second dose of the meningitis vaccine.
"I absolutely think that would be a good thing," said SLU Care general internist Dr. Fred Buckhold at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. "Meningitis usually affects teens and young adults. It is devastating. It kills and it kills fast. And once you see it as a physician — and God forbid you see it as a parent or a loved one — you recognize its power. But it is easily prevented with a very good vaccine that has very minimal downsides."
Vaccination rates are low for adolescents and teenagers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 44% of kids complete the meningitis vaccine by their 18th birthday — and only 49% of adolescents have received the full HPV series.
"My pediatrician colleagues would say that a 16-year-old well-visit could address a lot of other issues that 16-year-old kids face," Dr. Buckhold tells KMOX. "They are starting to drive, that's when rates of depression and suicide still remain high — and so that overall visit — in addition to vaccines — can also address a lot of things that are incredibly important at that age."
The visit could also include the flu shot — depending on the time of year. Studies show less than half of adolescents 13 to 17 years old get the flu vaccine.