Marlboro Teen Wins First Runner Up in Health Video Contest

Marlboro teenager Austyn Kaplan was named the first runner up this week in the Protect Me With 3 contest, thanks to a 30 second video created to raise awareness of the HPV vaccination for teens.

The contest, sponsored by  the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Health, challenged contestants to create videos highlighting the importance of adolescent vaccinations such as HPV, meningococcal disease and pertussis.

“We were highly impressed by the quality of the videos that we received from residents across the state and are very thankful to all of the school administrators, nurses and teachers who helped us communicate this contest to the students,” said Christina Tan, M.D., Assistant Commissioner for Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health.

Tan said, “Vaccination rates among pre-teens and teens continue to climb, but there is still room for improvement. This is the first year that we have worked with NJ youth to raise awareness of the importance of vaccination, and we are certain that it will not be the last!”