The number of teenagers in Iowa vaccinated is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report showing the immunization rates for Iowa teens rose from 2017 to 2018 and exceeds both regional and national averages. In 2018 the Tdap vaccine rate was 94%, higher than the national rate of 88.9%. Tdap includes diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough. Iowa’s meningitis immunization rate rose from 83.6% in 2017 to 89.2% last year.

In Iowa in 2018 HPV vaccination rates for both males and females were a combined 73.4% for the first dose and 55.1% for the completed series, both are higher than the national and regional rates. The Iowa Department of Public Health says this is good news, but vaccination is “an ongoing effort that begins with every infant born and continues through its life.”