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Vaccines Urged for Preteens Do you have an 11- or 12-year-old? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics want you to make sure your preteen boys and girls get vaccinated to protect against bacterial meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough. Preteen girls should also get vaccinated to protect against certain types of human papillomavirus, which is the cause of cervical cancer. "Many parents do not realize that some childhood vaccines, such as those for tetanus and whooping cough, require a booster dose at the preteen well visit," says Douglas Kwock, M.D., pediatric infectious disease specialist at Kapi'olani.