Update: Vaccines for Women, Adolescence through Adulthood

Recommendations for routine vaccination of adolescents and adults are continually evolving; new vaccines are licensed, and ongoing studies lead to updated recommendations for existing vaccines. Although vaccination is important for both sexes, some recent developments are particularly relevant for women and girls. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, licensed in 2006, is the first vaccine administered exclusively to women. Another recently licensed vaccine, adult and adolescent tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap), is especially important for women who plan to become pregnant and for new mothers to help prevent pertussis disease in infants who are too young to be vaccinated themselves. Other vaccines, such as influenza and rubella, are also important for pregnant women. Several vaccine safety issues are of particular relevance to women, namely, the theoretical risk of administering live vaccines during pregnancy and data suggesting that adolescent females might be at higher risk for syncope following vaccination. Obstetrician-gynecologists are the primary, and sometimes only, contact with the healthcare system for many adolescent and adult women and, as such, are uniquely positioned to provide vaccination services to the country's female population. Vaccine costs, storage and handling requirements, lack of access to immunization information systems ( also known as vaccine registries), and unfamiliarity with current recommendations are potential obstacles to ensuring that all adolescent females and women are appropriately vaccinated. Obstetrician-gynecologists can help reduce some of these obstacles by availing themselves of existing vaccination resources.