Why is it important for teens to receive vaccines?

Vaccines, also called shots or immunizations, are one of the safest and most effective ways to protect your young teen from getting or spreading potentially serious diseases. Despite all of the benefits of vaccines, not all young teens receive the vaccines they need. Some vaccines are required for entry into middle schools or junior high schools in California.

How should doctors help prevent illness during early teenage years?

Highly rated medical groups and their doctors send reminders when your young teen needs a vaccination. This makes it easier for you to be sure that your adolescent child, by age 13, has all of the recommended vaccinations.

What do the stars mean?

The scores show how well each medical group did at making sure young teen patients received a vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria (an upper respiratory infection), and pertussis (whooping cough)(Tdap) and the complete vaccine series for human papillomavirus (HPV) by age 13. The higher score means more adolescent children got the right care at the right time.

The scores are based on information from at least 30 medical group patient records in 2023.