Skip to main content

Military Health System

Don't Hesitate: Vaccinate Today for School

Image of A boy gets the COVID-19 vaccine. A boy gets the COVID-19 vaccine

Recommended Content:

COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts | Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Immunization Healthcare Division | Vaccine-Preventable Diseases | Vaccine Recommendations | Children's Health | Immunizations | Information for Patients: About TRICARE

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...

The Military Health System Celebrates Labor Day

Video
9/4/2020
Labor Day

Labor Day pays tribute to the American workforce. This year, we pay tribute to the Military Health System Workforce.

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

MHS Minute: A Call to Action for Convalescent Plasma Donation

Video
8/24/2020
Image of MHS Minute Carousel

Have you recovered from COVID-19, or tested positive for antibodies? Consider donating convalescent plasma. For eligibility requirements, and to find a donor center near you, go to https://www.militaryblood.dod.mil/Donors/COVID-19andBloodDonation.aspx

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine | Armed Services Blood Program

MHS Minute: DOD Focused on COVID-19 Testing and Treatment

Video
6/25/2020
Image of MHS Minute Carousel

Have you recovered from COVID-19, or tested positive for antibodies? Consider donating convalescent plasma. To learn how, go to https://www.militaryblood.dod.mil/

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

MHS Minute: Military Leading the Charge on COVID-19 Research

Video
5/28/2020
Image of MHS Minute Carousel

The military continues to serve on the front lines of research and treatment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tune in to the MHS Minute to learn more.

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response

ICU Nursing Series: Assembling Pressure Tubing (March 31, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
ICU Nursing Series Assembling Pressure Tubing

This video will review how to assemble pressure tubing to transduce pressures and waveforms from arterial lines and central lines. Connection to an ICU monitor with zeroing is also reviewed.

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Multi-Dimensional Approach To Intubation In The Setting Of COVID-19 (April 1, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Multi Dimensional Approach To Intubation In The Setting Of COVID-19

In this video, a doctor and nurse will talk you through preparing to intubate a patient. At the end of the video we highlight some special considerations for intubation in the context of COVID.

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Airway Pressure Release Ventilation (APRV) (April 17, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Airway Pressure Release Ventilation APRV

This video will explain the basics of Airway Pressure Release Ventilation, an option for mechanical ventilation, that is helpful as an oxygen salvage therapy for patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Lecture (April 10, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Lecture

In this lecture, the topic or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome is reviewed. Specific discussion on diagnosis and treatment including lung protective strategies are discussed.

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Ventilator Basics (ACVC) (March 19, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Ventilator basics

Ventilator basics (one mode) for non-intensivists

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Ventilator Tutorial V500/PB840 Drager (April 10, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Ventilator assembly

Ventilator assembly and input of settings for two common ICU ventilators.

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Acid Base for the Non-intensivist (March 21, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Acid Base for the Non intensivist

This video will teach you the etiologies for the various acid-base disorders as well as teach you how to interpret an ABG with a focus on metabolic acidosis and mixed disorders. This will teach you little to nothing about buffering, organic chemistry, biochemistry, etc. This is for practical application at the bedside.

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Transport Vent Tutorial (ParaPAC) (March 25, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Transport Vent Tutorial - ParaPAC

Transport Vent Tutorial - ParaPAC

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Shock Basics for the Non-Intensivist (March 19, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Shock Basics for the Non-Intensivist

Shock Basics for the Non-Intensivist...in the age of COVID-19.

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Sepsis In The Age of COVID-19 (April 10, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Sepsis In The Age of COVID-19

This video will review diagnosis and management of sepsis with some clarifications/alterations that apply during the COVID pandemic. This video is not all inclusive. It is meant as a refresher for non-intensivists.

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine

Sedation and Analgesia in the ICU during COVID-19 (March 31, 2020)

Video
5/11/2020
Sedation and Analgesia in the ICU during COVID-19

This video is intended to assist healthcare providers with the care of critically ill patients only. It is to be used as a guide ONLY for patients who have breathing tubes and are mechanically ventilated (on breathing machines). It will introduce you to sedative and analgesic medications that are used in the intensive care unit setting only. It will provide recommendations for use of sedation and analgesia in standard settings, but it will also provide recommendations for use in resource limited

Recommended Content:

Coronavirus & the MHS Response | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine
<< < 1 2 3 4 5  ... > >> 
Showing results 46 - 60 Page 4 of 6
Refine your search
Last Updated: January 25, 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