Published July 2026

Well visits, vaccines, and HPV

While summer break just began, it will be back-to-school season before we know it. This is an ideal time for pediatric and family medicine practices to address preventive care needs, bring immunizations up to date, and support cancer prevention. Annual well-care visits give Providers an opportunity to identify physical, behavioral, developmental, and emotional concerns early, while also reviewing school and sports forms and any vaccines that may be due.

Why annual well-child visits matter

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends routine preventive visits for children and adolescents, with annual well-care visits particularly important beginning at age 3. These visits support continuity of care, growth and development monitoring, behavioral health screening, anticipatory guidance, and immunization review. Back-to-school outreach can help practices engage families early and complete visits before school schedules and activities create access barriers.

This season also offers an opportunity for proactive panel management. Practices can identify school-age Members due for annual well-care, review immunization status before the visit, complete school, and sports forms during the appointment when appropriate, and arrange vaccine-only follow-up visits when all needs cannot be addressed in a single encounter.

Required immunizations for school-age children in New York

New York State school-entry requirements require Providers to ensure pediatric and adolescent patients are up to date on age-appropriate immunizations before the start of school. For most school-age children, required vaccines include DTaP/Tdap, polio, MMR, hepatitis B, and varicella. Students in grades 6 through 12 must also meet Tdap booster and meningococcal conjugate vaccine requirements, including grade 12 Men ACWY requirements based on the timing of prior doses. Although HPV vaccination is strongly recommended as part of routine adolescent preventive care, it is not currently required for school entry in New York.

Because vaccine requirements vary based on age, grade, dose intervals, and prior dose validity, practices should review each patient’s immunization record against current New York State school-entry and catch-up guidance before the school year begins. Proactive review supports timely vaccination, reduces avoidable school exclusions, and helps prevent delays caused by incomplete documentation or overdue immunizations.

What to cover during the back-to-school visit

A comprehensive back-to-school visit can help practices address both school requirements and preventive care needs. The checklist below outlines key components Providers can use to make each visit more thorough and effective.