MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Many pediatricians have been busy with annual patient well visits before students go back to school.
Dr. Lindy Lee Cibischino works for St. Luke's University Health Network in Monroe County. Dr. Cibischino tells Newswatch 16 that the big topic of most health conversations with parents is COVID-19, but they also want to know about vaccinations.
"Kids are going to be together and even with COVID and wearing masks, separating, we can still get other diseases, so it's very important to have all of your vaccines up to date before going to school so that we can prevent vaccine-preventable disease from spreading throughout the schools and homes," said Dr. Cibischino.
Dr. Cibischino says important vaccinations to get your child are MMR or measles mumps rubella.
For teens and young adults, doctors recommend tetanus, human papillomavirus, and meningitis shots.
There is another vaccine for meningitis that's important for teens headed off to college.
"There's another strain called Meningitis B, and Meningitis B can be seen in certain clusters in the United States and in the world, and if the colleges had an outbreak of that particular strain of meningitis, then they do either recommend or require it before you're living in the dorm, close contact situation," said Dr. Cibischino.
Doctors are recommending everyone to get a flu vaccine this fall and are reminding parents that it's safe to visit hospitals or doctors' offices.