For Health Care Providers Serving Adolescents

On this page:
HPV vaccine
Meningococcal vaccine
Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine
Influenza vaccine
COVID-19 vaccine
Adolescent immunization rates
Additional resources

HPV vaccine

• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
  Information and resources on HPV, including vaccination recommendations.
• Quick Facts: HPV-Associated Cancer
  Learn about Minnesota HPV cancer data including how many cancers could be prevented by HPV vaccination.
• Institute for Vaccine Safety: Human Papillomavirus
  Vaccine recommendation and safety information.

Top strategies for increasing HPV vaccination:

1. Start recommending HPV vaccination at age 9 and continue into age 11-12. 
   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
     Learn why AAP recommends HPV vaccination starting at age 9, including increasing opportunities for HPV vaccination series completion before other adolescent vaccinations.
   • National HPV Roundtable: Why Age 9? Nine Reasons to Vaccinate Before Age 9 (PDF)
     Learn about the nine benefits and reasons why starting HPV vaccination at age 9 can result in higher series completion rates.
   • National HPV Roundtable: Start at Age 9 Demand Toolkit (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. Strongly recommend HPV vaccine at each visit for patients who are due. Reduce missed opportunities for vaccination.
   • National HPV Roundtable: HPV Vaccination Clinicians & System Action Guides
     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.
   • AAP: How Pediatricians Can Recommend HPV Vaccination to Parents and Caregivers
     This resource provides guidance and examples to deliver a high-quality HPV vaccine recommendation, and how to address vaccine hesitancy and HPV vaccine refusal.
   • Lily's Story - Cervical Cancer Caused by HPV and Steve's Story - Oral Cancer Caused by HPV
     Stories of HPV cancer survivors provide important insight into real-world impact of HPV cancers and reinforce the critical role of HPV vaccination in cancer prevention.
3. Know your clinic’s adolescent coverage rate and consider practice improvement projects.
   • 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.
   • IQIP HPV Vaccination Improvement Project
     Quality improvement resources for improving your clinic's HPV vaccination 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 to call 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.
   • Reminder/Recall Using Text Messages (PDF)
     Information on support for reminder/recall activities for patients due or overdue for their vaccines.

Meningococcal vaccine

Meningococcal Disease: Information for Health Care Professionals
Information for health professionals about meningococcal disease, vaccination, and reporting.

Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine

Information on each disease the Tdap vaccine protects against including testing, reporting, and vaccine information:

• Tetanus Information for Health Professionals
• Diphtheria Information for Health Professionals
• Pertussis Information for Health Professionals

Influenza vaccine

Influenza vaccine is recommended annually for adolescents to protect from serious illness and hospitalization.

• Influenza Vaccine Information for Health Professionals
  Vaccination guides, immunization guidance, and more.
• Immunize.org: Communicating the Benefits of Influenza Vaccination (PDF)
  Quick fact sheet lists important benefits of flu vaccination and tips for recommending and discussing flu vaccination.

COVID-19 vaccine

• 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.
• COVID-19 Vaccine Basics (PDF)
  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.
• 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.

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 Immunizations
  Immunization coverage data for adolescents.
• 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.

Additional resources

• AAP: Adolescent Immunization Discussion Guides
  Provider-friendly discussion guides and family-friendly infographics for adolescent vaccines like HPV, meningococcal, influenza, Tdap, etc. in a variety of languages.
• Teens Need Vaccines, Too! (PDF)
  Information on vaccines your teen needs.
• HealthyChildren.org: Recommended Vaccines for 'Tweens, Teens & Young Adults
  Kids and teens need a number of important vaccines to protect them starting at around age 7 to 18 years.