The plan also recommends routine infant hepatitis B immunization. Adolescent vaccination has been easily accomplished and readily accepted in a variety of settings, including private practice offices and school-based immunization programs. In addition, teenagers with risk factors for HBV infection should receive hepatitis B vaccine as part of their medical care or treatment in settings such as drug treatment centers, clinics for sexually transmitted diseases, and detention facilities. In all instances, the three visits required to fully immunize against HBV infection provide the opportunity to review the adolescent's immunization record and provide other needed vaccines. Return to the list of summaries.
Public education is perhaps one of our most effective tools in preventing infectious diseases.
Through an educated public we can effectively use and apply the wealth of prevention tools that we have at our disposal. Vaccines and national immunization programs have significantly reduced childhood infectious diseases in America. However, this success is paralleled by a generally low name recognition and understanding of these diseases among children today. This type of educational disparity is not uncommon. To effectively educate the public in a proactive way, we must enlist the help of the media to help broadcast the message of adolescent immunization.