Class of 2010 transform into graduates - La Prensa De San Antonio

Junio 6, 2010 LA PRENSA DE SAN ANTONIO 5-C
Encourage your teen
to get vaccinated
By Cristina Blackwell
cblackwell@laprensasa.com
Being vaccinated is more important
than ever, and basketball
Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, along
with San Antonio Silver Stars
guard and Vaccines for Teens
spokesperson Helen Darling,
teamed up with NBA Cares and
the Society for Adolescent Health
and Medicine (SAHM) to bring
Vaccines for Teens to the San
Antonio community.
The national awareness campaign
will educate teens and their
parents about the importance
of vaccination against serious
and potentially life-threatening
diseases.
Lanier and Darling appeared
at the Martin Luther King Academy
to urge parents of preteens
and teens to discuss adolescent
vaccinations with their family
physicians. “We care about the
community,” said Darling. “Because
these kids look up to us,
it’s our responsibility to reach
out to them.”
Local community leaders also
support the recommendations of
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), which suggest
vaccination for preteens and
teens against influenza, including
seasonal strains and the pandemic
influenza A (H1N1) virus, meningococcal
disease, whooping
cough (pertussis) and human
papillomavirus (HPV).
Helping protect young people
in the San Antonio area and
preventing life-threatening complications
of these diseases is the
right thing to do, they say.
Immunization rates for all three
diseases among preteens and
teens remain alarmingly low in
Bexar County, where less than
half of those between the ages of
13 and 17 years are vaccinated
against meningococcal disease
and whooping cough.
“Vaccination can help teens
grow into healthy adults,” explained
Darling. “In basketball,
the best offense is a good defense
and the same holds true for protecting
teen health.”
John Kach remembers every
day of his traumatic experience
with meningitis. “What started
out with a cough and flu ended
up in six months of coma and millions
of dollars in medical bills,”
he stated. “Doctors thought I was
going to die –my organs were
shutting down, my fingers and
legs had to be amputated and now
every morning I wake up having
to put my prosthetic legs on.”
But despite his painful and
traumatic experience, Kach feels
fortunate to be alive. “I live for a
reason,” he said. “I could’ve had
brain damage, I could’ve been
blind, I could’ve died, but I didn’t
and I feel very lucky.”
Immunization is critically important
for adolescents because
they are at risk for serious and
potentially life-threatening diseases.
“People don’t realize how
quickly it can affect you,” stated
Kach. “The vaccine is quick, easy
and virtually painless.”
He noted how important it is to
be informed of the potential risks.
“I didn’t educate myself and I’m
still paying for it today.”
Meningococcal disease and
whooping cough affect people in
the area every year. In 2008, 10
cases of meningococcal disease
and 55 cases of whooping cough
were reported in Bexar County.
This disease spreads easily from
person to person by sharing water
bottles, eating utensils or even
living in close quarters at camp.
To help protect adolescents,
the Texas Department of State
Health Services requires that students
entering seventh grade have
their meningococcal meningitis
vaccine and one booster dose of
tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular
pertussis (Tdap) vaccine.
The moment parents prepare
to send their children back to
school in the fall, they should also
prepare to have their families immunized
against influenza as soon
as the vaccine is available.
Adolescent immunization in
Texas is a very important community
health issue. Between
67,565 and 270,261 San Antonio
residents suffer from influenza
annually, yet immunization rates
drop every year.
“With teens in such close contact
in classrooms and on school
sports teams, these infectious diseases
can spread easily from student
to student,” said Dr. Manuel
Angel Oscós-Sánchez, president
of the Texas Regional Chapter of
the Society for Adolescent Health
and Medicine. “Vaccination is a
safe and effective way to help
teens stay protected, yet immunization
rates remain low among
adolescents.”
Teens and their parents can
learn more about the risks of
vaccine-preventable diseases, and
the benefits of vaccination, by visiting
www.vaccinesforteens.net.
Basketball super stars, community doctors and meningococcal disease survivors went to the Martin
Luther King Academy to discuss why teen vaccination is an important public health issue.
(Photo Cristina Blackwell)
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