Preteen Vaccine Week starts Sunday

Ventura County Public health officials are giving Preteen Vaccine Week a boost.

Doctors and nurses are preparing to host a no cost/low cost clinic on Sunday from noon to 2p.m. at the Centerpoint Mall in Oxnard.

Preteen Vaccine Week is a statewide effort to remind parents about required and recommended vaccines for 11-and-12-year-olds. Preteens must have Tdap or whooping cough vaccine before they begin seventh grade.

Doctors also recommend getting preteens and teens vaccinated against HPV (genital human papillomavirus), meningococcal (meningitis), influenza (seasonal flu) and varicella (chicken pox).

Ventura County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin said, “Keeping up-to-date on immunizations is one of the most important and easiest things that we as parents can do to protect our children’s future. Immunizations help foster a healthy life throughout adolescence and beyond.”

Immunity from childhood vaccines can fade overtime, exposing a child to diseases that can spread. For more information about the Ventura County Public Health clinic call: 800-781-4449 or log onto: www.vchca.org/ph