Skip to main content

Military Health System

Test of Sitewide Banner

This is a test of the sitewide banner capability. In the case of an emergency, site visitors would be able to visit the news page for addition information.

Don't Hesitate: Vaccinate Today for School

Image of A boy gets the COVID-19 vaccine. Naval Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Vernon Thomas, a preventive medicine technician, gives a vaccine to a military family member at Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s Immunizations Clinic, Aug. 8, 2019. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jacob Sippel)

Back-to-school time is here already, and many parents are required to show proof of vaccinations before their children can return to in-person classes.

TRICARE covers the cost of physicals for school enrollment, which include vaccinations.

Parents should know that these vaccines have been proven safe and effective many times over in large clinical trials in this specific population to fight or eradicate childhood diseases. The same goes for teenagers.

So, protect your children. Protect yourself. Stay up to date and talk to your pediatrician or health care provider today about vaccinations for children and teens.

Think of childhood vaccines in five primary groups, said Army Capt. (Dr.) Nicholas DeStefano, officer in charge for primary care and a family physician at Weed Army Community Hospital, in Fort Irwin, California:

  1. Very early childhood vaccines generally given at 2, 4, and 6 months: hepatitis B (Hep B), diphtheria-tetanus and pertussis (DTaP), Haemophilus influenza B (Hib), pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), polio vaccine (IPV), and rotavirus vaccine.
  2. Early childhood vaccines generally given at 12 or 15 and 18 months include the very early vaccines again, except for rotavirus and Hep B, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), varicella (chicken pox), and hepatitis A (Hep A).
  3. Childhood vaccines given at age 4: DTaP, IPV, MMR, and Varicella.
  4. Preteen vaccines given at age 11: DTaP, human papillomavirus (HPV), and meningococcal (meningitis).
  5. Teen vaccine given at age 16: meningitis.

Flu Vaccine

The influenza vaccine should be given every year to children 6 months and older. “Influenza has a history of causing significant illness especially in children under 5 and adults over 65,” DeStefano said. “If or when the restrictions lift for COVID-19, people are going to return to family gatherings, and we are likely to see a significant increase in influenza cases,” he warned.

Also, he said he “tries to help parents make the connection between mask wearing and social distancing and the number of influenza infections last year,” which were far lower than usual, adding: “It also helps to remind families that once we are able to have children safely in schools across the country, we don’t want them to get sick and have to be out of school again for flu.”

The flu vaccine usually becomes available in late August or early September. Check with your health care provider.

DeStefano said he strongly recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for “anyone who is eligible.”

He said he generally spends more time discussing getting the flu vaccine because of the age of the patients he sees, who are too young for the COVID-19 vaccines under the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization.

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine can be given to youths 12 years and older. It is recommended that anyone 16 and older be immunized against COVID-19. Large studies are ongoing in children younger than 12.

A teen boy gets the COVID-19 vaccine.
Army Staff Sgt. Michael Witham, from the DENTAC at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, administers a COVID-19 vaccine to military family member Alan Saucer at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, April 15, 2021. The 17-year-old chose to get vaccinated to reduce his chances of contracting the disease and possibly spreading it to others. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Christina Yager)

Vaccine Hesitancy

Like other doctors, DeStefano sees parents who are hesitant to vaccinate their children.

“The most effective methods to address vaccine hesitancy are specific to addressing each individual parent’s concerns,” he said.

“My grandparents lived in a world with few vaccines and cars with no safety features,” he tells parents with vaccine concerns. “Our desire to protect ourselves and our children has led to an increase in the number of vaccines against deadly diseases in the same way it has led our cars to have seatbelts, airbags, side airbags, and backup cameras,” he tells them.

PCSing

As for children who are making permanent changes of station (PCSing) with their families, DeStefano recommends the standard battery of age-appropriate vaccines.

Additionally, he recommends an early MMR vaccine in children 6-11 months old who are PCSing to Europe and the Japanese encephalitis and typhoid vaccines for those PCSing to Asia.

DeStefano suggests parents check the CDC’s travel site for the specific country to which they are being stationed to get the exact vaccination requirements.

College-age Vaccinations

Dr. Prabha Gupta, an internist at Kenner Army Health Clinic in Fort Lee, Virginia, recommends that college-age patients get a tetanus/acellular pertussis (whooping cough) combination because, “for some, it’s been more than 10 years since their last tetanus shot, and they may not have had the whooping cough vaccine before,” she said.

“I definitely recommend an influenza shot and a COVID-19 vaccination,” she added.

“We know the patterns of influenza” every year, but it would be a “double whammy if a patient got flu and COVID-19 together,” she said.

Her approach to the COVID-19 vaccination question is to “tell you the facts, the evidence, and why it’s important, and my advice, but say, ‘It’s up to you, the patient, to decide whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine.” She said “nine out of 10 walk out of the room with the shot.”

Other immunizations for college-age patients are the meningitis vaccine, which is not mandatory, but a student who doesn’t take it has to sign a waiver, she said.

Additionally, Gupta double-checks that her patients have received the MMR vaccine and have proof of that vaccination. If not, they must have a blood test to check for MMR antibody levels in their blood.

HPV is the most “under-discussed” vaccine, Gupta said. “I discuss it” because the vaccine is recommended for those up to 26 years of age.

“I don’t know if pediatric health care promoted the vaccine or not,” Gupta said, “so I give them the option of a three-dose regimen.”

DeStefano is an enthusiastic proponent of the HPV vaccine because it prevents cervical cancer in women and throat and anogenital cancers in both sexes. The HPV vaccine “targets the highest risk strains of HPV, which account for over 90% of cervical cancer,” he said.

You also may be interested in...

Immunization Tool Kit 9th Edition

Publication
6/6/2023

A practical reference that facilitates and enhances the global delivery of quality immunization healthcare to Department of Defense beneficiaries and employees. The Defense Health Agency Immunization Healthcare Division publishes the Immunization Tool Kit based on national recommendations, evidenced-based, peer-reviewed published medical literature, and clinical practice guidelines.

Poster: The Game of Life

Publication
3/9/2022

Display this poster in your facility to educate beneficiaries about TRICARE's qualifying life events which could trigger a change in your TRICARE coverage.

Checklist: Best Practices for Vaccination Clinics Held at Satellite, Temporary, or Off-Site Locations

Publication
10/20/2021

A step-by-step guide to help clinic supervisors follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Defense (DOD) guidelines while overseeing any nontraditional vaccination clinic setting.

Helping a Military Child Heal After Loss Infographic

Publication
6/23/2021

Learn ways to support military children as they navigate the grieving process and begin to heal.

Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine at Civilian Pharmacies

Publication
3/9/2021

YOU CAN GET THE COVID-19 VACCINE FROM ANY CIVILIAN PHARMACY AT NO CHARGE, EVEN NON-NETWORK PHARMACIES, BUT HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND.

Access to COVID-19 Vaccine for Members of the Selected Reserve (SELRES)

Publication
3/2/2021

COVID-19 Social Media Toolkit

Publication
1/5/2021

These messages are provided for you to use on your platforms with any of the images from the COVID-19 Toolkit.

DoD COVID 19 Vaccine Distribution Plan and Population Schema

Publication
12/10/2020

Regarding the initial COVID-19 vaccination rollout, Defense Department officials announced a phased and coordinated strategic plan for distributing and administering the initial COVID-19 vaccines.

Holiday Season Guidance to Minimize Spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019

Publication
11/16/2020

This memorandum provides guidance to help protect individuals within the DoD community from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for gatherings and activities during the November to January holiday season.

Updated Guidance for Performing Temperature Checks at Military MTFs and DTFs

Publication
10/21/2020

This guidance is an update to Defense Health Agency Return to Full Operations Concept of Operations, V5.0 (June 12, 2020) as it pertains to temperature checks in MTFs and DTFs. Based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), previous guidance directed MTFs to take the temperature of all individuals entering the facility. Effective immediately, temperature checks are not required; however, screening of individuals entering MTFs and DTFs and healthcare personnel on duty in the MTF or DTF is to continue.

Force Health Protection Guidance (Supplement 12) -Department of Defense Guidance for Personnel Traveling During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Publication
8/6/2020

This memorandum supplements requirements in references (a), (b), and (c) with respect to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and replaces reference (d). It provides pre- and post­travel guidance for purposes of force health protection (FHP) of Service members, DoD family members, DoD civilian employees, and DoD contractor personnel.

Supplemental Guidance 10 for Military Medical Treatment Facilities and Military Dental Treatment Facilities Directors in regards to Coronavirus Disease 2019

Publication
7/1/2020

Communication to ABA Providers Regarding Continued Temporary Authorization to Utilize Telehealth for CPT Code 97156 During the COVID-19 National Emergency

Publication
6/3/2020

TRICARE is announcing the continuation of the temporary exception to policy regarding the use of synchronous telehealth (TH) capabilities (both audio and video) for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Family Adaptive Behavior Treatment Guidance services specifically during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Force Health Protection Guidance (Supplement 9) -Department of Defense Guidance for Deployment and Redeployment of Individuals and Units during the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Publication
5/26/2020

This memorandum provides force health protection (FHP) deployment and redeployment guidance for Service members (including Reserve Component (RC) and National Guard members in a title 10 or title 32 duty status) and DoD civilian employees deploying within and outside the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with references (a) and (b).

Guidance for Commanders on Risk-Based Changing of Health Protection Condition Levels During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Publication
5/20/2020

This memorandum provides guidance for commanders to consider when making decisions to change health protection condition (HPCON) levels as COVID-19 pandemic conditions on and adjacent to our installations begin to improve.

Page 1 of 4 , showing items 1 - 15
First < 1 2 3 4 > Last 
Refine your search
Last Updated: May 04, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery