FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, September 17, 2009

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Mark W. Salley
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Colorado Ranks Top in the Nation for Tdap Teen Immunization

Denver - Colorado teenagers have the highest rate of immunization in the nation against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) according to a report being released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sixty-three percent of 13 to 17 year olds in Colorado received Tdap versus 40 percent of teens nationally.

For the first time in 2008, the National Immunization Survey (NIS) looked on a state by state basis at data on vaccination rates for teenagers. Prior years of NIS data focused only on children 19-35 months of age. Other immunizations measured for teens include meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) and human papilloma virus (HPV). The Colorado rates for MCV are 32 percent compared to the national average of 42 percent, and HPV is 34 percent compared to the national rate of 37 percent.

“I’m encouraged that we are heading in the right direction in immunizing our young people,” said Ned Calonge, the state’s chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “I’m thrilled that our state is leading the nation with the Tdap vaccination and this report comes on the heels of a report ranking us 10th in immunizing our preschoolers.”

The Tdap, MCV and HPV vaccines are recommended to be given at a child’s 11-12-year-old doctor’s visit because these are either diseases that teens are more prone to contracting themselves or can spread to others including younger children in their home. The CDC routinely recommends these adolescent vaccines at routine well visits.

“Teenagers are a group where we see illnesses spread quickly because they often are in close contact with each other. By immunizing teens we not only are protecting them, but also protecting everyone else in their home, like younger siblings, from some serious diseases,” said Joni Reynolds, director of the state Immunization Program.

After recognizing rates for pertussis were higher for these age groups in Colorado, the Colorado Board of Health in 2007 mandated that children entering 6th and 10th grades receive Tdap. The Board of Health rules include exemptions for personal, religious or medical reasons.

The serious diseases prevented by the vaccinations measured in the NIS data include:

• Tetanus, often called lockjaw, which is characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers.

• Diphtheria which causes the progressive deterioration of myelin sheaths in the central and peripheral nervous system leading to degenerating motor control and loss of sensation.

• Pertussis, also known as the whooping cough, which is a highly contagious disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis.

• Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) which is the leading contributor to cervical cancer.

• Meningococcal disease is a severe bacterial infection of the bloodstream or meninges (a thin lining covering the brain and spinal cord) caused by the meningococcus germ.

The Colorado Immunization Program, based at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, promotes and facilitates the prevention of these vaccine-preventable diseases in Colorado through investigation, education, increasing and maintaining vaccine coverage, and ensuring access to immunization services for Coloradans of all ages.

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