For Health Care Providers Serving Adolescents

On this page:
COVID-19 vaccine
HPV vaccine
Meningococcal and Tdap vaccines
Adolescent immunization rates

COVID-19 vaccine

• Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination
  Adolescent vaccine administration tips for recommending COVID-19 vaccine, including information to share with parents and ideas for reaching the most disadvantaged.
• CDC: Older children and teens need vaccines too!
  Guidance and resources on how to talk to parents about the importance of protecting their child from COVID-19 through vaccination.
• COVID-19 Vaccine Basics (PDF)
  Patient educational resources providing COVID-19 vaccine information that can inform health care providers' conversations with families about the importance of vaccination, counseling patients on what to expect during and after vaccination and addressing common questions and concerns.
• About COVID-19 Vaccine
  For specific concerns and particular populations, refer to this page. It is a comprehensive resource for all things COVID-19 vaccine.
• CHOP Questions and Answers about COVID-19 Vaccines
  The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) vaccine education center provides answers to some of the most common questions and concerns people have about COVID-19 vaccines.
• de Beaumont: Language that Works to Improve Vaccine Acceptance (PDF)
  Communications cheat sheet providing tips and scripts that can be used to strongly recommend COVID-19 vaccine.

HPV vaccine

• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
  Information and resources on HPV, including vaccination recommendations.
• HPV Vaccine Safety
  CDC provides information for patients on vaccine safety, effectiveness and duration of protection.

Top strategies for increasing HPV vaccination:

1. Start recommending HPV vaccination at age 9 and continue into age 11-12. 
   CDC recommends HPV vaccination at pre-adolescence. Starting HPV vaccine recommendation at age 9 can help focus the conversation on cancer prevention at an early age. MDH supports initiating HPV vaccination at age 9 so that series completion is accomplished by age 13.
   • Why AAP recommends initiating HPV vaccination as early as age 9 | American Academy of Pediatrics
     Learn why AAP recommends HPV vaccination starting at age 9, including increasing opportunities for HPV vaccination series completion before other adolescent vaccinations.
   • Why Age 9? Nine Reasons to Vaccinate Before Age 9 | National HPV Roundtable (PDF)
     Learn about the nine benefits and reasons why starting HPV vaccination at age 9 can result in higher series completion rates.
   • Start at Age 9 Demand Toolkit | National HPV Roundtable (PDF)
     Access resources to implement HPV vaccination recommendations at age 9, including a clinic poster, vaccination schedule, cue cards for clinic staff, and reminder cards for patients.
2. Integrate on-time, same-day HPV vaccination into office policy and clinic culture.
   • HPV-Associated Cancer in Minnesota
     Learn about Minnesota HPV cancer data including how many cancers could be prevented by HPV vaccination.
   • HPV Vaccination Clinicians & System Action Guides | National HPV Roundtable
     Access action guides for clinicians, support staff, and all health care professionals to improve HPV vaccination rates. Action guides are also available for both small private practices and large health systems.
   • HPV Vaccine Video for Health Care Providers
     Give a strong vaccine recommendation. Watch this video on strongly recommending on-time adolescent vaccines including low-stress ways of answering common questions and concerns from adolescent patients and their parents.
   • Tips and Timesavers for talking with parents about HPV vaccine (PDF)
     Align HPV communication across your clinic. This CDC resource provides quick and effective ways to answer the most common questions parents have about HPV vaccination. It can help make sure everyone in the clinic is saying the same thing about HPV vaccine and talking about HPV vaccine the same way they talk about meningococcal and Tdap vaccines.
   • Lily's Story - Cervical Cancer Caused by HPV
   • Steve's Story - Oral Cancer Caused by HPV
3. Track and share HPV vaccine coverage rates with your practice.
   • Adolescent immunizations
     Explore Minnesota state, county and metro zip code level adolescent vaccination coverage data including HPV series initiation and completion rates through the Minnesota Public Health Data Access.
   • Immunization Assessment MIIC User Guidance and Training Resources
     Learn how to use MIIC assessment reports to track your clinics adolescent vaccination coverage rates.
4. Assess adolescent patients' immunization history at every visit and remind patients to come in for the vaccines they need.
   • Interpreting a MIIC Vaccination Record MIIC User Guidance and Training Resources
     Learn how to use MIIC to assess a patient's immunization history. You may also need to ask the patient for paper-based records or call to their primary care provider(s).
   • Client Follow-Up MIIC User Guidance and Training Resources
     Learn how to use MIIC to find patients in your practice who are missing immunizations. It can also be used for reminder/recall activities to get them back into the clinic.

Meningococcal and Tdap vaccines

• CDC: Meningococcal Disease
  Information for health professional about meningococcal disease, vaccination, treatment and prevention.
• Meningococcal Disease: Information for Health Care Professionals
  Information for health professionals about meningococcal disease, vaccination, and reporting.
• CDC: Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis Vaccination: Information for Healthcare Professionals
  CDC website with recommendations for Tdap and other vaccines to prevent against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis.

Adolescent immunization rates

• Vaccine Data
  Refer to the "Who's Getting Vaccinated" tab for an age breakdown of COVID-19 vaccine coverage rates for Minnesota statewide and by county.
• Adolescent Immunization Rates
  National and state-level immunization coverage data for adolescents from Minnesota Immunization Information Connection (MIIC) and the National Immunization Survey (NIS) data sources.
• Current Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Coverage Rates
  Current immunization coverage rates show who is up-to-date on their immunizations at the specific point in time.
• CDC: TeenVaxView
  Local, state and federal adolescent immunization coverage data displayed in interactive maps, charts and tables.