This web site, StartWithFour.org is designed to give you information about four key adolescent immunizations.

True or False? Take this short quiz to see what you know about adolescent immunizations.

Q1. Immunizations are only for infants and young children.

___TRUE? or ___ FALSE?

Q2. The only time one can get their child immunized is right before school starts.

___TRUE? or ___ FALSE?

Q3. Meningitis is a disease that only affects college-age students.

___TRUE? or ___ FALSE?

Q4. Flu is a disease that one can easily get over.

___TRUE? or ___ FALSE?

What you need to know as a parent

Teens need immunizations (vaccinations). Immunizations:

• Increase their body’s ability to fight diseases.
• Prevent the spread of disease to other people who may not be able to fight off disease as easily as others.

Unfortunately, teens who have not received their immunizations often experience:

• time away from school or work,
• disabilities and
• loss of life.
• There is also a risk of secondary complications (when a disease worsens and causes other diseases or problems) such as heart defects, mental retardation, pneumonia, paralysis, deafness and blindness.

When parents choose to not fully have their child get all of their vaccinations, we run the risk of diseases reoccurring and creating an outbreak of diseases that have virtually disappeared from the United States.

Four Resources for Parents about Vaccine Safety

There has been much misinformation in the entertainment media and on the internet that is confusing parents about vaccine safety. You may find the following sites useful as reliable resources.

Four Information Sheets