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Mary Richards, KSL Newsradio National numbers show few teenagers are getting two new vaccines, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says Utah is improving in its overall immunization rates.
Twelve percent of teens nationwide got the new meningitis vaccine; 11 percent got another new shot called Tdap -- for tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough.
But the Utah Department of Health's Dr. George Delevan expects those numbers to rise. "Both those are new vaccines, they've only been out a year," he said.
Delevan says Utah teens are required to get the Tdap before middle school, increasing the state's immunization numbers.
Utah's immunization rates for 2-year-olds are also rising. "This year we've jumped from 41st place last year to 20th, so we're really glad to hear that," Delevan explained.
Delevan says public health campaigns and doctors are doing better at getting the word out to immunize.
